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Breaking up is hard to do, and even harder if you’re BlackBerry, it seems. Reuters reports the troubled smart phone maker rejected a takeover offer this week as it didn’t want to sell only parts of its business and break up the company.
Tech heavyweights like Microsoft, Apple, Google and Lenovo are all rumoured to want a piece of BlackBerry, but the Canadian company doesn’t reckon dicing itself up is “currently in its best interests”, according to the report, which cites an anonymous source. But BlackBerry hasn’t ruled out selling off some of its parts in future.
I’ve tapped up BlackBerry for a comment, and will update this story if I hear back.
Like Motorola before it, BlackBerry is sitting on a treasure trove of mobile patents that plenty of companies would like to get their hands on. But it reckons a break up wouldn’t serve the interests of its stakeholders, according to the source. These stakeholders include employees, customers and suppliers.
Canadian law states that companies need to consider the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, when they decide on a deal.
Some of the company’s assets — including devices and network assets, as well as software patents — are so intertwined that BlackBerry would lose value if it was broken up, according to another source.
A deal to buy BlackBerry fell through this week. The Waterloo-based firm gave its head honcho the boot, and had to raise $1 billion to keep itself afloat.
But it hasn’t written off splitting up in future. According to the source, the decision “reflects the current situation”, and future choices will be “measured by a similar yardstick”.
BlackBerry’s latest handsets like the Z30 and Q10 have been met with a shrug by punters. The company recently filed a quarterly loss of almost $1 billion.
What’s the future for BlackBerry? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
Update: A BlackBerry spokesperson has been in touch to say the company doesn’t comment on rumour or speculation.
