[glennster28]

There is something going on for sure. The whole deal reeks to me. Am I upset about the loss, sure, but what gets me more upset is the optics of it all. The recent events leading up to the $9 offer look contrived to me.

[KemKev]

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be happy that BlackBerry was sold, but as a stock holder, I'm definitely not. $9 a share is crap.

Isn't $9/share the floor? Also, given BBRY's predicament, what do you believe it should have been?

[Anilu7]

No longer a shareholder... so no I'm not pissed.

I envisioned that Hardware/Software/MDM is pretty much done - the launch failed, so these have very little value in the long term. So Cash, Patents, other divisions, real assets... about $7 - $8 Billion in value. Given that Fairfax is most likely buying BB for it's parts and is going to have pay to close down divisions and the auction off the remaining assets, and the fact that they are only doing it for profit. $4.7B sounds about right.

Now IF BBRY does have 2B in cash, I think that another deal isn't out of the question.... If I were Apple I'd buy them just to keep anyone else from getting them....

Prem Watsa is known for taking struggling companies private and building them up to profitability. I see this as good for BB but as a stockholder I was prepared for the risk when I bought. As Q said, don't buy if you can't take the risk. And, yes, I lost several $1000 so I'm not happy as a shareholder. But that is the stock market.

[sentimentGX4]

There is something going on for sure. The whole deal reeks to me. Am I upset about the loss, sure, but what gets me more upset is the optics of it all. The recent events leading up to the $9 offer look contrived to me.

I don't see why anyone is still complaining about 9 USD/share. The stock price is now below that despite Watsa's offer so Wall St. clearly thinks that it was too generous of an offer. Watsa made the offer to try to keep the share price at 9 USD minimum, not to low ball investors. (That is why the news was released after consecutive bad news days.)

[cbvinh]

The stock is still sliding down. Did BlackBerry's desperate desire to get bought out doom them from recovering if the deal doesn't go through? They got a ton of bad press, which drove the stock price down to something desireable for a buyout, but the same bad press will make it difficult for them to re-market their products, since when people look up BlackBerry, all they'll see are the end-is-coming press.

[cbvinh]

I don't see why anyone is still complaining about 9 USD/share. The stock price is now below that despite Watsa's offer so Wall St. clearly thinks that it was too generous of an offer. Watsa made the offer to try to keep the share price at 9 USD minimum, not to low ball investors. (That is why the news was released after consecutive bad news days.)

That's a possibility, and if the sale isn't feasible, I hope to see BlackBerry market the crap out of the Z30 and other BlackBerry's soon.

[njblackberry]

Isn't $9/share the floor? Also, given BBRY's predicament, what do you believe it should have been?

They have six weeks of due diligence (during which time BBRY can shop the company).
Another bid could come in, Fairfax could change their bid, or continue with the $9 bid.
Since - right now - the price of the stock is below $9/shr, some people must not believe that at deal at $9 or higher is going to happen.

Now that's scary.

[franky62]

To me it all depends on what they do with the company. True im breaking even on this one, but if the blackberries continue to flow im good with it but if they are just gonna break it up and sell it for parts then i would be pissed. I'd rather lose everything with a potential to grow then just break even.

[ankush77]

hmm still not worth it

[FSeverino]

Prem Watsa is known for taking struggling companies private and building them up to profitability. I see this as good for BB but as a stockholder I was prepared for the risk when I bought. As Q said, don't buy if you can't take the risk. And, yes, I lost several $1000 so I'm not happy as a shareholder. But that is the stock market.

What are some of his success stories? Remember that the market that BlackBerry is currently in is incredibly saturated, and the market they want to focus on is cut throat just the same

Posted via CB10

[FSeverino]

This is also looking more and more like a play by Fairfax to draw out more bidders. If BlackBerry chooses someone else FF gets $160 million to help ease their losses on a reported $20 share average. Coupled with the fact that the offer would have to be more than $9 this can half the loses FF takes with them doing nothing

Vs the alternative of them assuming debt and risk in order to attempt a revival or to sell parts for profits

Posted via CB10

[semperfi45]

This is also looking more and more like a play by Fairfax to draw out more bidders. If BlackBerry chooses someone else FF gets $160 million to help ease their losses on a reported $20 share average. Coupled with the fact that the offer would have to be more than $9 this can half the loses FF takes with them doing nothing

Vs the alternative of them assuming debt and risk in order to attempt a revival or to sell parts for profits

Posted via CB10

Or perhaps they could fire the executive, turn the company into successful business with the focus on profit not ego. Just saying.

[EchoTango]

Prem Watsa is an entrepreneur.....which means he buys low and sells high. He knows this is a good deal and is simply capitalizing on the bumbling of the few senior managers who misfired every delivery on their watch. This is clearly a bargain basement price and Watsa knows it.

It's hard not to believe, given the recent events, that this was an "inside job" as everyone close to this deal will come out of this with bags of cash. The shareholders will pay the costs, not the responsible parties. In my view, Blackberry needs to be run under supervision of the Regulator until the near future of the company is resolved. I really feel that the management, in concert with Prem Watsa are currently raiding the company and I suspect we'll see a large reduction in the cash on hand as a result.

If the Fairfax deal goes through, I believe it will be the biggest swindle in Canadian Corporate history and will cause a plethora lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the foreseeable future. This will make Nortel bankruptcy look like a Sunday School picnic.

[nicky devriese]

without the Prem Watsa bid,the stock was under 5 by now
i lost a fortune on blackberry,i am very pissed on T.Heins(misleaded us)
he made a mess of it,FIRE HIM NOW!!!!!

[Kid Vibe]

without the Prem Watsa bid,the stock was under 5 by now
i lost a fortune on blackberry,i am very pissed on T.Heins(misleaded us)
he made a mess of it,FIRE HIM NOW!!!!!

The stock would have been in 7's by now IMO if PW did not come in... Anyways, he sees a bargain. Either he gets a company for dirt cheap or he sells off his shares to a potential bidder above his average... Lets hope for the latter.

[mset]

This is also looking more and more like a play by Fairfax to draw out more bidders. If BlackBerry chooses someone else FF gets $160 million to help ease their losses on a reported $20 share average.

Fairfax cost basis on BBRY is $17/share

[mset]

If the Fairfax deal goes through, I believe it will be the biggest swindle in Canadian Corporate history and will cause a plethora lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the foreseeable future. This will make Nortel bankruptcy look like a Sunday School picnic.

I can assure you that with Barbara Stymiest as Chairwoman of the Board Of Directors, there aren't going to be any lawsuits and everything that transpired and will transpire will be legal to the letter of the law.

The problem is that the laws are set up to make looting of a company like this possible. Sometimes less, sometime more, but the insiders always get paid and shareholders usually eat the loss.

Just ask anyone who held Air Canada through two bankruptcies.

[FSeverino]

Or perhaps they could fire the executive, turn the company into successful business with the focus on profit not ego. Just saying.

Yes, that was the number two option... the one I hope they take!

Posted via CB10

[FSeverino]

Fairfax cost basis on BBRY is $17/share

That makes my though even more likely... Although I was just throwing it out there. i really hope they keep moving

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

More and more it seems that PW offer is not a real offer, but a smoke screen to get another player to commit now and not wait until the stock falls further.

He doesn't have the needed cash yet.
He can adjust his offer.
He can just pull his offer.


If I had stock, I think getting out right now might be a safer bet. If no other offers come in, and if for some reason by Nov PW doesn't like how BES adoption rates are going.... he might come back with a much lower offer.

[PeterC4]

I think you read this wrong. If BlackBerry finds another buyer in six weeks and terminates their deal with Fairfax, then Fairfax gets $157 million. If BlackBerry signs an agreement to complete the deal but terminates, then Fairfax gets $261 million.

If Fairfax can't get financing, they just walk away... and the stock will probably go into free fall again, especially since BlackBerry dropped all the negative news and killed the positive news from earlier in last week (Z30, 10.2, etc.).

This is correct. Finally.

[PeterC4]

More and more it seems that PW offer is not a real offer, but a smoke screen to get another player to commit now and not wait until the stock falls further.

He doesn't have the needed cash yet.
He can adjust his offer.
He can just pull his offer.


If I had stock, I think getting out right now might be a safer bet. If no other offers come in, and if for some reason by Nov PW doesn't like how BES adoption rates are going.... he might come back with a much lower offer.

This is why un-financed takeover bids should be viewed with caution and you have raised real concerns. If no other offers come in, the banks or other members of the consortium may change their view of value.

[CBCListener]

Hope for a white knight, although a bidding war seems unlikely.
Watsa was on the board and is a very shrewd businessman; he didn't overbid.

Watsa is the white knight, don't you know? Or maybe stalking horse.

[michaelshawn]

guys this is the biggest load of sh*t
they used all investors to help get bb10 up and running.. now that its getting to a more stable place and they have bbm ready to go cross platform ( which will be worth more then 4.7 alone ) they want to take it private so they can make all the money. just think about how BAD everythng came out these last few months. they weren't even trying to get bb10 out there.
them saying they want to go private because of the public is a load of BS. before the HUGE fail of the bbm launch atleast 60% of the world knew nothing about blackberry. HOW am i the only one that see's this?!!!

[PeterC4]

Fairfax cost basis on BBRY is $17/share

Financial estimates are 51.855 million shares at an average Cdn share price of $14.67 for a total investment of $760.891 million. Purchased between Sept 30, 2010 and Sept 30, 2012. Largest single investment was 25.006 million shares at approximately $7.52. Original purchase was 2.065 million shares at approximately $50.10. These are period estimates.