2017.07.2322:38:00UTC+00Blackstone Reportedly in Talks to Acquire 40 Percent Stake in Israel’s NSO

Blackstone Group is in the advanced phase of talks to buy 40 percent of the Israeli cyber company NSO Group for $400 million, according to a report published b y Israel's Calcalist business newspaper.

ClearSky, another investor, is expected to join Blackstone in the deal as secondary buyer for 10 percent, according to the report.

A spokesperson for the firm that creates spyware for mobile devices said he could not confirm the news. Blackstone was not immediately available to comment.

The NSO has come under greater scrutiny in recent months amid allegations that the Mexican government has used the company's Pegasus mobile spyware against private civilians.

Last month, cyber researchers with Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global affairs said that the Mexican government attempted to put the Pegasus software on devices that belonged to the opposition party's lawyers and private citizens including human rights lawyers and journalists.

President Enrique Pena Nieto called for a formal investigation on the accusations which he said were false.