BlackBerry Ltd is in serious talks with large technology firms including Google, SAP and Cisco offering them to buy all or some parts of the company. Samsung, LG and Intel are also among the potential buyers the company has approached for “preliminary expressions of interest” unidentified sources close to the matter have confirmed to Reuters.
The Canadian smartphone company is looking up at this deal as an alternative to the Fairfax bid if things don’t work out as planned.
Two weeks ago, BlackBerry had signed a letter of intent with its biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings to be sold for around $4.7 billion. As part of the agreement between the two, BlackBerry would be free to look out for other potential buyers and discuss terms with them within the due diligence period.
It is not still clear whether the companies will be taking any interest and will be bidding for BlackBerry. But, the technology firms might be interested especially in the Canadian company’s secure server network and patent portfolio, the sources said. Samsung, Google, SAP, Intel, LG and Cisco haven’t officially commented on this report.
The possible bidders will have to take every step with utmost caution as BlackBerry incurred a quarterly loss of around $1 billion following a write-down on its unsold Z10 phones last month.
A spokesman from BlackBerry said that “The special committee, with the assistance of BlackBerry’s independent financial and legal advisors, is conducting a robust and thorough review of strategic alternatives.”
