Yesterday Reuters reported that BlackBerry and Samsung were in talks, that the Korean juggernaut was offering $7.5 billion for the Canadian manufacturer, Samsung was said to be particularly interested in BB’s patents. Soon after the news broke BlackBerry shares surged 29 percent but both companies were quick to deny the report, Samsung called it “groundless,” and BB denied in the strongest terms that nothing of this sort was happening. A Canadian publication reports today that BlackBerry has recently been fending off acquisition offers from multiple companies.
Before the top level shakeup at BlackBerry the company was actively seeking for a buyer. Lenovo was rumored to be interested but that deal was reportedly blocked by the Canadian government over security concerns as Lenovo is based in China.
The Globe and Mail reports that recently BlackBerry has declined multiple takeover offers from different companies, the report doesn’t name any of those suitors, but does say that for now the company’s board of directors and its largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial, are expressing confidence in CEO John Chen and his efforts to turn the company around. They believe these efforts will offer more value to shareholders down the line.
It can’t be denied that things have improved since Chen took the helm. The stock is up, there’s buzz in the media about BlackBerry’s new devices, and the company’s financial condition is getting better. Chen has reiterated multiple times that he has no intention of shutting down the handset business even as the company looks for other sources of revenue while tightening its belt even further.
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