BlackBerry ‘More Open’ To Sell Itself Off In Pieces

There has been a lot of speculation about BlackBerry’s future over the past few months. The company is officially up for sale though interest has been thin. Recently it signed a letter of intent with Fairfax Financial Holdings, which offered $9 per share to take BlackBerry private, pending due diligence. Analysts believe that Fairfax might lower the bid once its sees that there are no other offers on the table, whereas BlackBerry is said to have reached out to companies like Google, Samsung and Intel to seek bids. The deal with Fairfax isn’t exactly confirmed right now and there doesn’t seem to be much interest in a complete acquisition of the entire company. Bloomberg reports that BlackBerry is now “more open” to the idea of breaking up and being sold off in pieces.

Apparently the company has warmed up to this idea amid reports that Fairfax won’t be able to generate the required funding to complete its part of the $4.7 billion takeover bid, “a person with knowledge of the matter” tells the publication. Companies that were approached by BlackBerry recently have reportedly expressed interest in certain parts, such as its enterprise network and its patents. Analysts have long predicted that BlackBerry might considering breaking up in order to complete the sale. Its struggling handset business isn’t said to hold much value in case this happens. BlackBerry has until November 4th to shop itself around, that’s when Fairfax will come back after having studied the company’s books and possibly having lined up the required funding.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: BlackBerry