“Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is looking at options that could include joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company as it struggles to survive against stiff competition.
“Blackberry… on Monday said it had set up a committee to review its options and that top shareholder Prem Watsa was stepping down from its board due to a possible conflict of interest.”
Although the news of a possible sale is increasing Blackberry’s stock, going private may be a better option for the company. As highlighted previously, the Canadian government said it will look closely at any potential sale of the company, as they would wish to keep the company on Canadian shores. Couple that with the fact that many companies have already taken a look and decided to pass on Blackberry, a sale may not be as easy as some people think. As reported by the nytimes.com:
“Exactly who would want to buy BlackBerry or how the company could finance going private [is] also unclear. Speculation has circulated for years that large technology companies, notably Microsoft, have looked at BlackBerry and decided to pass. Smaller technology companies based in China undoubtedly covet BlackBerry’s brand as well as some of its technology, but the government of Canada has strongly hinted that any such takeover would be banned on national security grounds.”
It is unclear where Blackberry will go from here, but chances are the story won’t be a happy one for the Canadian phone maker.
