BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is moving aggressively on the
acquisition front, announcing Dec. 11 it has an agreement to purchase content
delivery platform Chalk Media in an $18.7 million all cash deal. The deal
follows a Dec. 10 formal filing launching RIM's hostile takeover bid for
security vendor Certicom.
Chalk Media, a member of the BlackBerry Independent Software Vendor Alliance
Program, develops an application suite that allows the creation of media-rich
"pushcasts" sent to BlackBerry smart phones. As a part of the deal,
RIM agreed to loan Chalk Media $2.2 million to fund its operations until the completion
of the transaction.
Chalk's pushcasts, already in use by large corporations and government
agencies, allow targeted content delivery with notifications and can include
large media assets such as video or audio files, as well as surveys, tests, and
click to call or e-mail requests.
Chalk's board of directors has unanimously approved the acquisition and
recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. The deal is
expected to close by the end of February.
In a Dec. 10 follow-up offer made to Certicom, RIM announced its takeover
bid is now open to all Certicom shareholders. RIM said it would offer Certicom
shareholders $1.20 per share, or approximately $52.6 million for all
outstanding shares.
If RIM's takeover bid is successful, Certicom's
Elliptic Curve Cryptography will help RIM woo companies and government agencies
with an elite security system.
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