Report: Research In Motion Angles for Sale to Samsung
Floundering BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is reportedly pushing for a sale of the entire company to South Korean electronics maker Samsung.
According to BGR.com, while Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM is currently in talks to license its software to other vendors, the company is leaning toward an outright sale of one or more divisions -- or even the whole company.
In fact, co-CEO Jim Balsillie is actively meeting with almost every potential suitor, including Samsung, BGR reported.
“Jim is going hard after Samsung,” a source told the tech blog.
Pressured by disgruntled shareholders alarmed by RIM’s shrinking market share, the Canadian company has been forced to explore a number of strategic options, including a sale of all or part of the company.
The BlackBerry maker, which essentially created the smartphone market it is now struggling in, is seeking a buyout bid worth between $12 billion to $15 billion, compared with its current market cap of just $8.5 billion, BGR reported.
However, the tech blog said no deal has been reached because that asking price is too rich.
Still, the news helped fuel a rally in RIM’s shares Tuesday morning. RIM was recently trading up 4.64% to $16.92, piling on to its 2012 rally of almost 12%.
Asian electronics behemoth Samsung could be interested in RIM’s popular BlackBerry Messenger and other enterprise features as a way to differentiate itself from other Android devices, BGR reported. Android is the operating system owned by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).