Cisco, Google and SAP are in line to bid for a slice of the BlackBerry pie Reuters reports, since reportedly the beleaguered mobile vendor wants an alternative to the $4.7bn privatisation deal with shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings.
Other potential bidders include Intel, LG and Samsung.
None of the companies confirm or deny involvement in such deals, but Reuters says they are “in talks” to buy “all or parts of” the company. Then again anyone would deal cautiously with BlackBerry, whose fiscal Q2 2014 results saw losses of over $900 million following a writedown on unsold Z10 smartphones.
Also liming attractiveness is a patent portfolio "likely" to halve in value over the next 18 months. Currently analysts suggest the BlackBerry services business (the one powering the well regarded BlackBerry Messenger) is worth £3-4.5bn, while the company's patents are worth $2-3bn.
Interesting to note BlackBerry was preparing to launch BBM as a cross-platform service before hit by its current woes. Maybe the likes of Cisco or Google would be interested in such a service?
Asked by Reuters for comment the company simply states "the special committee, with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors, is conducting a robust and thorough review of strategic alternatives."
