South Korea based Samsung Electronics has recently come up with an offer proposing to take over BlackBerry Ltd for a deal closing at $7.5 billion. The firm is seeking to acquire the valuable patents from BlackBerrry as it is facing tough battles with the Cupertino tech giant Cupertino, claims a source familiar with the matter.
According to sources, Samsung has proposed an initial pricing in the range between $13.35 and $15.49 per share representing a premium of 38 percent to 60 percent on BlackBerry’s current trading cost.
Reports also suggest that representatives from both the companies are working with the advisers and they met last week to talk about a potential transaction. Also, BlackBerry announced in an official statement that it has not engaged in any discussion with Samsung with regards to any possible offer to acquire BlackBerry. Shares of theWaterloo,Ontariobased firm soared by around 30 percent and fell back by around 15 percent in the after hours of electronic trading after the statement.
Samsung announced that it has no such plans of acquiring blackberry and a company spokeswoman announced that media reports of the acquisition are groundless. In the meantime, on Wednesday, aCanadabased newspaper Globe and Mail reported that BlackBerry has eschewed a handful of acquisition proposals in the recent months as its board and largest investor think its reorganizing strategy will render greater shareholder value.
BlackBerry, which at one time pioneered smartphones has come back to regain some of its lost swagger. Notably, the CEO of BlackBerry, John Chen is leading a bid to regain its market share that was lost after the emergence of Android and iOS offerings.
As per Morningstar analyst Brain Colello, BlackBerry is in a transition today and any investment has been a bet on the future. At this point of time, when Samsung is interfering could become a great move.
Samsung is currently the leading international smartphone maker and it has crowded the consumer market in the recent years with its new range of smartphones. With the take cover of BlackBerry, Samsung could trail back its rivals away from the challenge.
