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BlackBerry is in talks to acquire cybersecurity start-up Cylance, according to several sources close to the case.
An agreement could be announced as early as next week, sources said, although they warned that it could still collapse.
Sources estimate that the transaction price could reach $ 1.5 billion, although the exact financial conditions can not be learned.
Cylance, based in Irvine, California, develops products based on artificial intelligence to protect companies from cyberattacks. According to PitchBook, the group raised $ 327 million in venture capital and was considering filing an initial public offering, several sources told Business Insider.
The six-year-old company is competing with CrowdStrike – which is planning an IPO that puts the company at more than $ 3 billion, according to a recent Reuters report – on the fast-growing market for cybersecurity services.
BlackBerry is expanding its security offerings from mobile phone hardware sales to software and business services to business customers.
Cylance generated revenues of more than $ 130 million for fiscal 2018, representing a 90% growth over the previous year, a June press release announced. Cylance also has 4,000 customers, according to the press release.
BlackBerry declined to comment. Cylance did not return a comment request.
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