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Samsung Offers $7.5 BILLION To Buy BlackBerry
Samsung is reportedly offering to buy out BlackBerry for $7.5bn
According to reports Samsung wants to buy up BlackBerry for a cool $7.5 billion (US), though BlackBerry is denying the claims that it is in talks with the Korean hardware giant.
A report from Reuters claims that Samsung is going after BlackBerry’s patent treasure trove, citing an unnamed source who alleges senior executives from both Samsung and BlackBerry met as recently as last week in talks over the buyout. BlackBerry reps spoke to Bloomberg to deny the claims.
The company said that BlackBerry has “not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry.” Meanwhile, Reuters reports hearing from Samsung which described the allegations as “groundless”.
While industry analysts suggest that such a move would make sense for both companies, they’re also somewhat skeptical as this is by no means the first time BlackBerry has been rumoured to be hosting talks of a buyout from a selection of companies, and Samsung has been fingered before as a company with offers on the table. Historically, reports have indicated that prior to John Chen heading the company, it proved somewhat immobile during negotiations on a selling price. However, on this occasion it seems Samsung is waving a very tantalising carrot – $13.35-$15.49 per share at around 38%-60% above BlackBerry’s trading price at the time of the offer.
But even if Samsung and BlackBerry are around the negotiation table despite their claims, and even if they do reach the kind of agreement which until now has remained highly elusive, there are still plenty of proverbial spanners to grind everything to a halt.
John Chen himself has previously commented on the difficulties of BlackBerry selling up due to the popularity of its devices and security products with major Western governments, their security services, and key businesses. Chen said he believed there would “be a lot of regulatory issues and concerns,” from “countries where governments share intelligence.”
Meanwhile, as Reuters reports, Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail claims BlackBerry has rejected a number of offers from other companies in the last few months. Allegedly the board of directors currently prefers the sound of the company’s restructuring plans, as far as shareholder value is concerned. Once again it seems BlackBerry wants more than Samsung is prepared to offer.
Paul Briden
14:24, 15 Jan 2015