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Prem has five Canadian companies holding about 16.9% voting power.
FFHL Group appears to be his too, and it has 14.8% voting power.
Then FairFax (US) Inc has 10.5% voting power.
And several of the smaller "investment" companies are also owned by FairFax... has anyone sat down and really figured out how much of BlackBerry that Prem controls at this point?
98%... clearly. On a serious note, I don't think it has ever been broken down because it might all be a bit too difficult to pin down accurately but he certainly owns quite a bit. It's approx. 30% of FairFax alone's portfolio and that doesn't count whatever else he has tied up.
Is the prem watsapp CB member the real Prem Watsa?
Very cheeky if he's not, because his avatar is clearly the real Prem Watsa's photo. (as per the photo of Watsa on wiki for example).
--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --
Yep, indeed he is... In the same manor that I'm The Great Gatsby....
Posted via CB10
With just the seven firms that I looked at he has 42.2% of the voting power, but I didn't bother checking ownership of all the investment companies with voting power, that are listed.
I think some are double counted due to cross ownership.
Posted via CB10
So, the interesting question is: what happens if Fairfax/Watsa commands greater than 50% of the shares/voting power? And perhaps that's only a matter of time now.
What direction then for BlackBerry? Does Watsa want to continue/discontinue the hardware division?
What are Watsa's views on BlackBerry running marketing campaigns to promote its products?
Yeah, could be very very interesting eh!
--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --
Given that BlackBerry's current direction was after Watsa's cash infusion to keep the company from being sold or going bankrupt, I think we can all surmise his positions.
I think that Watsa would make his own mark on BlackBerry and that might not be consistent with how things are done now.
I also think that he would want BlackBerry to thrive!
--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --
Have no doubt he would like BlackBerry to thrive.... and make money and thus cause the value of his investment to rise. But yeah you have to question what an investment banker would know about charting the course to achieve that. If he could find a buyer......
I think you need to do a bit of research on Prem and figure out why he named his company Fairfax. It highlights his entire investment philosophy. As to his holding, Prem's stake hovers around 20 percent. He is completely uninterested in selling the company as he just bought another 50 million shares. The bigger issue is whether he is positioning himself to take the company private.
Posted via CB10
Exactly!
Why not if the offer is right!
Posted via my BlackBerry PRIV
Okay! So going private would be beneficial, yes? But how....
I'm not teasing - just trying to figure out if it might mean that not only would immediate share results pressure be off, but that it would allow BlackBerry to become creative again or......
'Creative'meaning identifying directions and putting time and effort into r and d without undue investor pressure. (I didn't say 'unlimited').
--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --
Yep! Just as I'm "The Emperor of Texas & California ".
Emperor of Texas & California.
Gee, some of you need to understand Aus humour, cheekiness and pointing out the obvious ..... :)
(Although I hear subtlety is not well understood in some parts of the English speaking world ;) )
So the questions I posed here are as relevant as ever now that bb has articulated it's direction. Anyone want to venture into what might occur if Prem controls more than 50% of the bb shares?
Still wondering....
Well it sure isn’t mobile hardware