[danprown]

You have to wonder if they were told the same applies to any bid from a US company...

Does this eliminate Lenovo from any future endeavour? How about coming to some form of agreeement with Lenovo whereby they would produce some entry-level and mid-tier phones running BB10? How about BBRY keeping some form of high-end phone manufacturing capabilities? I am obviously grasping at straws here... Who knows what will happen?

[danprown]

On the contrary: it's clear there were no offers. As much as I dislike the current board, this vague letter from yet another "consortium" with "potential financing" is not worth the paper it's on.

The plot thickens:
Cerberus, Qualcomm, and co-founders asked for more time...



BlackBerry Abandons Sale Process - WSJ.com

LOL, yep, investors are certainly pleased at the coup Mr. Watsa has pulled. He may not believe it right now, but his reputation has been tarnished. Even the Financial Post is accusing him of pulling off the biggest coup in Corporate Canadian history.

[fedakd]

Not exactly...

Lenovo pursued BlackBerry bid, but Ottawa rejected idea - The Globe and Mail

On the contrary: it's clear there were no offers. As much as I dislike the current board, this vague letter from yet another "consortium" with "potential financing" is not worth the paper it's on.

[cjcampbell]

http://www.poet-technologies.com/

If there is a takeover target with this newfound money, I personally hope it's this one.

Posted via CB10

[slipstream89]

well we all knew an outright sale to lenovo was unrealistic, only thing is the partnership but what does lenovo gain in that?

[fedakd]

Access to emerging markets and their distribution network. Where Lenovo is reported to be weak.
They may as well nationalize BlackBerry while they're at it.

well we all knew an outright sale to lenovo was unrealistic, only thing is the partnership but what does lenovo gain in that?

[peter9477]

Seems to me this is a great fresh start, I agree with whomever said six quarters to really see if this ship is fixable.

It's great that you agree with that person, since that person was the new Interim CEO and Chair... ;-)

[OMGitworks]

Not exactly...

Lenovo pursued BlackBerry bid, but Ottawa rejected idea - The Globe and Mail

I only wish MrFreeTruth was still here to tell us about free and open markets.

[m0de25]

I only wish MrFreeTruth was still here to tell us about free and open markets.

I know you're joking, but you have to admit that Chinese control would have been the absolute last nail in the coffin for the company's main differentiator - security. No way that even US govt + companies would have stood for this type of ownership change.

[JonCBK]

Glad to see the company will remain public. It will be interesting to see if they can make a go of it. I would rather it stay public than have had to sell my shares for $9. I want potential for a resurgence.

Posted via CB10

[silversun10]

You have to wonder if they were told the same applies to any bid from a US company...

no, there is a difference...

[fedakd]

Sorry, but I just had to post this.... I'm half kidding

[morganplus8]

bigbbrybeliever[/B];9479775]Morgan, if you get time, please enlightening me the following questions:

1. What is the true reason that BB wants the $1 billion convertible notes?
I would suggest that two major gains were made, maybe three, Prem looks like he bent over backwards to help BBRY out of this mess, he threw BBRY a bone so to speak. Then there is the dilution of stock which could amount to 20%, when you add voting rights for the bonds to Prem's holdings, it will be difficult to stop him (and his consortium) from controlling BBRY. He has 4 X the votes for $ 250 M bucks. We will find out who the other investors are in 2 weeks. Mike will have to purchase plenty of shares to get on the board so they had better make a move soon. The final reason is an honest one, large uncommitted companies like JP Morgan will be assured that BB will be around for a long time. They now have a 12 month cash balance of $ 7.50/shr in cash to make their transition. Depending on who invested in those bonds, that could be enough to win Wall Street over again.

2. Who found and convinced Mr. John Chen to join BB?3.
Excellent question, I which I knew, he has some background similar to Heins and I wonder if the connection stems from that? I like this guy on the surface and obviously Prem likes him too. I wonder who the other investors are in the bond offering, that would tell us more. Again, we'll know in 2 weeks. If, as my hunch tells me, it was Silver Lake who are taking up the bond issue, then you know they appointed or demanded that Chen step into that role. I suspect that is the real reason why he is there, they have a large investment in BBRY now.

Why is it so easy and quick to empower Mr. John Chen with title of Executive Chairman of the board without slightly noise from the existing board member and chairwoman?
Again, my hunch is that Silver Lake is taking up a large chunk of the bonds and they demanded he sit in on BB and guide its future. This tells you BBRY wanted the funds up front and they were willing to concede the position to him. That will come out in 2 weeks time.

4. What is the implication of item #3.
He seems like he knows his stuff, with Prem watching over things, complete control resides with these guys now, for a song. The part I don't like was that they probably knew a couple of months ago that they could pull this off. A company like MSFT could have stopped all of this in their tracks with a decent offer but I dealt that possibility existed at any time in the process. The thing is, they have set a goal to get the stock above $ 10.00/shr by purchasing that Call Option, you can bet they will leverage it to make billions and you and I can go along for the ride. Suppose they already have a plan in place to breakeven in Q3, the stock is back at $ 10.00/shr and they are now building for their future.

Thanks. .............. thank you

One thing that is missing in all of this discussion is "What does Mike think of this deal?" Of all the players out there right now, I would like to hear from Mike L, does he support the plan? If he doesn't like what Prem has done to his holdings, we could see a real battle take place soon. Many companies are purchased without the due diligence that BB has afforded the parties. It is rare to see an auction process to sell a company, and therefore, it is far more common for bids to be made on a great deal less information than most have at their disposal today. Mike could offer $ 9.75/shr tomorrow and kill the bond deal. He has to act fast before the deal is completed. Buy purchasing shares, he can load up on cheap stock and make an offer by Friday. All appointments would end, the bond issue would die and he could take control of the company on his terms. Will they do it? The longer you don't hear from him, the more you have to think he is making a move to stop this deal. We'll see.

[morganplus8]

I would like to give one more reason why Mike is looking at making an offer. Prem has probably borrowed $ 250 MM from Silver Lake to invest in the bond issue with an option to buy 25% of the over flow of bonds by December. He will receive a 6% return on the investment from BBRY and it wouldn't surprise me if his loan from Silver Lake is at 6%. He then invests nothing but has to appoint Chen to the board. A nice deal indeed.

Is Mike happy that his shares are worth 20% less ... above $ 10.00/shr? Is he pleased that Prem got control of the company by creating a bond deal and spending none of his own money? I can't imagine Mike is pleased with this deal. He has less than two weeks to turn this around and save his investment.

[fedakd]

Can't wait to see how this turns out. Qualcomm, Cerberus, and the two co-founders make are a formidable team. Keep Chen around, ML comes in and cleans house. Maybe bring in Sculley. We need people with connections to many industries and walks of life. The current board seems disconnected from the real world.

Thanks for the posts, morgan!

I would like to give one more reason why Mike is looking at making an offer. Prem has probably borrowed $ 250 MM from Silver Lake to invest in the bond issue with an option to buy 25% of the over flow of bonds by December. He will receive a 6% return on the investment from BBRY and it wouldn't surprise me if his loan from Silver Lake is at 6%. He then invests nothing but has to appoint Chen to the board. A nice deal indeed.

Is Mike happy that his shares are worth 20% less ... above $ 10.00/shr? Is he pleased that Prem got control of the company by creating a bond deal and spending none of his own money? I can't imagine Mike is pleased with this deal. He has less than two weeks to turn this around and save his investment.

[abouthsu]

I would like to give one more reason why Mike is looking at making an offer. Prem has probably borrowed $ 250 MM from Silver Lake to invest in the bond issue with an option to buy 25% of the over flow of bonds by December. He will receive a 6% return on the investment from BBRY and it wouldn't surprise me if his loan from Silver Lake is at 6%. He then invests nothing but has to appoint Chen to the board. A nice deal indeed.

Is Mike happy that his shares are worth 20% less ... above $ 10.00/shr? Is he pleased that Prem got control of the company by creating a bond deal and spending none of his own money? I can't imagine Mike is pleased with this deal. He has less than two weeks to turn this around and save his investment.

Morgan, mind if i ask why less than two weeks?

[morganplus8]

Morgan, mind if i ask why less than two weeks?

abouthsu!!

The plan will be executed within 2 weeks as stated in the BB news release. That's when Heins steps down, the bond offering is approved by BB and all appointments and retirements occur. This means that a bonafide offer needs to be in place that will halt the proceedings. If Mike offered $ 7.50/shr he would likely not achieve a significant share purchase or vote. He needs to step it up and make an offer higher than Prem's offer to force the BoD to consider it. Personally, I would like to see their group buy 12 million shares, announce an offer to purchase and continue to buy more shares hard. That would force the board to accept the offer.

[BBNation]

I'm a little puzzled by the short data today. One would have thought that shorts could have covered some with such aweful news and seemly huge volume. Guess what, the net short interest actually went UP today:

Interactive Charts

Any thoughts?

Is this really accurate ? it does not make sense. As I mentioned few times for months majority of trading is done among traders, shorts. They keep shoring n covering. Today I am sure tons of shorts covered as why and who would anyone longs purchase over 50 mil shares today after such horrible news, downgrades.

[JLagoon]

Mike could offer $ 9.75/shr tomorrow and kill the bond deal. He has to act fast before the deal is completed. Buy purchasing shares, he can load up on cheap stock and make an offer by Friday. All appointments would end, the bond issue would die and he could take control of the company on his terms. Will they do it? The longer you don't hear from him, the more you have to think he is making a move to stop this deal. We'll see.

Hi Morgan; do you mean that Mike L. can buy more shares in the open market to exceed Prem Watsa's stake in the company, so he could cancel the $1 billion convertible debt deal? If Mike L. increases his ownership above Prem Watsa, then what would be the purpose to team up with Cerberus and Qualcomm? He would need to make it into a partnership deal, instead of a bid, wouldn't he?

Also, why aren't the institutional stock holders doing anything to screw the shorts so far?

Thank you.

[silversun10]

BlackBerry Ltd.’s rescue close to a corporate coup d’�tat | Financial Post

interesting article here.
why would Mike and company need more time? they know where BB is trading(and so they have to top that), they know BB must be a mess at the moment. and when cleaning the mess, doing it ASAP is essential. so, he either gets in or not. enough of the analyzing, just roll up your sleeves...

[JLagoon]

Is Mike happy that his shares are worth 20% less ... above $ 10.00/shr? Is he pleased that Prem got control of the company by creating a bond deal and spending none of his own money? I can't imagine Mike is pleased with this deal. He has less than two weeks to turn this around and save his investment.

Is it possible that Prem is buying time for Mike L. to work out a deal with Cerberus and Qualcomm with this $1 billion convertible debt?

[fedakd]

The biggest reason: $$$

Secondly, stategic alternatives. The ability to vertically integrate with Qualcomm will lower BBRY's COGS should they continue to go on their own in making hardware. Regardless, there are a lot of potential synergies between the two companies.

Hi Morgan; do you mean that Mike L. can buy more shares in the open market to exceed Prem Watsa's stake in the company, so he could cancel the $1 billion convertible debt deal? If Mike L. increases his ownership above Prem Watsa, then what would be the purpose to team up with Cerberus and Qualcomm? He would need to make it into a partnership deal, instead of a bid, wouldn't he?

Also, why aren't the institutional stock holders doing anything to screw the shorts so far?

Thank you.

[morganplus8]

Is this really accurate ? it does not make sense. As I mentioned few times for months majority of trading is done among traders, shorts. They keep shoring n covering. Today I am sure tons of shorts covered as why and who would anyone longs purchase over 50 mil shares today after such horrible news, downgrades.

You would normally be right but we know that the bond offering needs to be shorted into and it is possible that Silver Lake is buying up all of the bonds and shorting the stock as a hedge against BBRY going bankrupt. The amount of shares we are talking about is 100,000,000 so that's the kind of volume we need to see here. If Mike made an offer to buy BBRY, those short positions would get slaughtered because the offer price wouldn't allow the bonds to be issued. If Mike wanted to cause a stink, he would make an offer within the next couple of days. The buyers of the bonds need to protect themselves from a complete collapse of the stock so they short the stock.

[silversun10]

Is it possible that Prem is buying time for Mike L. to work out a deal with Cerberus and Qualcomm with this $1 billion convertible debt?

like sending the catcher to the mound to win time for the bull pen to warm up?

[morganplus8]

Hi Morgan; do you mean that Mike L. can buy more shares in the open market to exceed Prem Watsa's stake in the company, so he could cancel the $1 billion convertible debt deal? If Mike L. increases his ownership above Prem Watsa, then what would be the purpose to team up with Cerberus and Qualcomm? He would need to make it into a partnership deal, instead of a bid, wouldn't he?



Also, why aren't the institutional stock holders doing anything to screw the shorts so far?
Thank you.

They can't make any of the kind of fast decisions you speak of here.

Bingo! His group can step into the market while the bond holders are shorting the stock and buy his balance of shares to cross the 10% mark. It would cost him $ 80 MM to control 10% of the stock. He then states they have a formal offer to buy the company at $ 9.25/shr and they are legally able to buy up more shares in the open market from that point onward. The consolation prize is that if they own enough shares, they can get members voted onto the BoD. This is the perfect time to buy the company, that's why I want to hear from Mike and his group. Mike needs to act fast here, his group could stop all plans by Prem and actually hurt them while they are naked shorting the stock.