After reporting acquisition of Good Technology last week, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) CEO Mr. John Chen commuted to Israel and met government officials to talk about the company’s growth strategy. Israel is often called as the “startup nation” due to its prominent startup and successful startup culture that creates interest globally.
The market
The company is no outsider to Israel as in April it bought Israeli startup firm WatchDox in a deal valued between $100 million and $150 million. BlackBerry transformed the acquired firm into its first research and development facility in Israel. In an attempt to extend the company’s reach into Israel, the CEO met with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
The executive said that Israel is stated as a central locale for executing the company’s acquisition and development plans. Also, the PM stated that Israeli-based cyber security entities have raised nearly $250 million so far in this year, representing almost 20% of total international investments in cyber security. The figures for the year clearly highlight the reason of the company approaching the Israeli market.
The competition
Apart from BlackBerry, there are many other firms targeting Israeli market. Coinciding with BlackBerry CEO’s visit, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported its acquisition of Israeli based cyber security startup firm Adallom. While the two firms have yet to reveal the acquisition deal’s financial term, Microsoft deal is anticipated to be one of the largest deals. Previously, Microsoft has acquired Aorato, a firm that manufactures products exclusively aimed for Microsoft users.
In unrelated news, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) reported that it will be releasing its financial report for the second quarter of FY2016 on September 25, 2015. The company is securing a connected world, offering unique offerings in the entire mobile ecosystem. It secures the most sensitive data of world across all end points from Smartphone to cars, turning the mobile-first enterprise dream a reality.
