In a rather unexpected turn of events on the business side of BlackBerry, a report from Reuters claims that several large tech companies are currently discussing the possibly of bidding on BlackBerry – including Cisco Systems, Google, and SAP.
Other companies that BlackBerry is reportedly in talks with include Intel Corporation, LG and Samsung. This could serve as an alternative to the Fairfax deal, which many remain skeptical of due to uncertainty around Fairfax’s financing. None of the companies have yet taken any concrete action to indicate that they will bid, but BlackBerry has reportedly requested preliminary expressions of interest by early next week.
It’s unclear, however, whether these companies are interested in taking over BlackBerry as a whole, or just want to pick up certain pieces. Reuters says many of them are most interested in BlackBerry’s server network and patent portfolio.
Neither BlackBerry nor any of the companies involved have officially commented on this possibility. BlackBerry only had this to say: “The special committee, with the assistance of BlackBerry’s independent financial and legal advisors, is conducting a robust and thorough review of strategic alternatives.” Would you be interested in seeing any of these companies taking over BlackBerry? Sound off in the comments below.
Source: Reuters