Fairfax Moved Towards Large Canadian Investment Funds for Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)
Written by Stephanie Byars on September 10, 2013
According to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s largest shareholder has moved towards several large Canadian investment funds concerning a deal to take the smartphone maker private, but the plan is still cloistered. The shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, has a 10 percent stake, and its chairman and chief executive, Prem Watsa, has already left the board of BlackBerry to evade any likely clash of interest as the company analyzes its strategic options. The source, who asked not to be named because the preliminary discussion was still private, said that along with Watsa’s Fairfax there has been an early and informal move concerning a possible deal from another investor.
The source said that the company received different calls asking if they bring some kind of plan would it consider it. Fairfax has not replied to a request for comment, and Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry said it does not give argument on speculation. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares fell -4.25% in current session. BlackBerry, which has released market share for its competitors including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone and phones employing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android technology, declared last month that it was exploring its options which might include an outright sale. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were down -0.23% in current session. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares were down -0.98%, and trading at $43.61.
On Monday, the shares of BlackBerry has surged more than 6 percent after Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper reported that Watsa was finishing out a rescue deal for BlackBerry, with support from Canada’s significant pension funds. The source said any deal is expected to occupy more than one of Canada’s influential pension funds, which would have to consider the possible incentives of assisting a declining Canadian icon with the caution of involving in such a deal. BlackBerry shares finished at $11.53 on the Nasdaq, increased from $10.84 at closing on Friday, providing the company a market capitalization of just over $6 billion. The source said that if a tangible plan was on the table then things would probably “go quiet” while investors sought their options.