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BREAKING: Blackberry reportedly selling to Fairfax Financial for $4.7 billion
Forgive us for taking a break in news directly related to Android, but we thought this bit of breaking news was damned worth it. Reports are swirling in that Blackberry has agreed in a letter of intent to sell their company to Fairfax Financial for $4.7 billion (a company that already has a pretty large stake in Blackberry). Through the sale, shareholders will receive an extra $9 per share, and the company will be taken off the public market for good.
Fairfax Financial’s chairman and CEO Prem Watsa had this to share in regards to the deal:
We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees. We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world.
It’s a tough time for Blackberry, with the company having to lay off 4,500 employees following a poor Q2 2013. Sales, or the lack thereof, of the Blackberry Q10 and Z10 were to blame, with the two smartphones positioned as the two captains set to right the ship.
Blackberry has long been rumored to be transitioning into a company that focuses on providing software services for the masses, with the first move poised to be Blackberry Messenger for Android and iOS. That particular release was supposed to take place this weekend, but went horribly wrong after it leaked ahead of schedule.
The result of the leak was a massive server failure, making many Blackberry services difficult to access even for those who actually own Blackberry devices. Blackberry has yet to release any updated details in regards to another attempt to launch the messaging service, though the few people who were excited for it might have already been turned off by this unfortunate episode.
Developing…
[via Bloomberg]
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