Rumours suggesting that BlackBerry would be acquired are nothing new. They have surfaced a number of times over the past few years, particularly as the company struggled to turn its fortunes around as device sales floundered. They quieted down as the company has been steadily turning things around but have now resurfaced with a number of parties once again reportedly interested.
The not-always-accurate Digitimes reports that Microsoft as well as a number of Chinese handset manufacturers, including Xiaomi Technology, Lenovo and Huawei, are considering acquiring the Canadian company. Microsoft has reportedly gone as far as commissioning investment companies to evaluate benefits to its competitiveness in the business mobile solution segment as well as the value of BlackBerry’s patent portfolio.
It’s not the first time that some of these companies are being tied to BlackBerry acquisition rumours. Both Lenovo and Microsoft were named in some previous rumours.
The last acquisition rumour to surface suggested that Samsung was ready to spend as much as US$7.5 billion to acquire BlackBerry. The price may have gone up some more with the Canadian company returning to profitability in its last fiscal quarter.
The report points out that Chinese companies may have difficulty obtaining the necessary approvals due to national security concerns. In fact, the Canadian government blocked the sale of BlackBerry to Lenovo back in 2014 due to such concerns.
Source : Digitimes