[antonio crawley]

Troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry has agreed to a buyout by its largest shareholder for $4.7bn (�2.93bn).
The company said it had "signed a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence".
Fairfax boss Prem Watsa is a former board member who owns 10% of BlackBerry.
BlackBerry recently confirmed plans to cut 40% of its global workforce as it said it expected to report massive losses of almost $1bn (�620m) in its second quarter.
The smartphone company said it would lay off 4,500 employees in an attempt to slash costs by 50% and shift its focus back to competing mainly for the business customers most loyal to its brand.
In a statement, Mr Watsa said: "We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry its customers, carriers and employees.
"We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company."
Shareholders will receive $9 (�5.60) in cash for each share.
BlackBerry has lost significant market share in recent years, with the likes of Samsung and Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) winning over increasing numbers of customers and dominating the market.
The firm was hoping to turn things around with two new handsets - the Z10 and Q10.
However, the phones, launched earlier this year, have failed to capture the public's imagination.
BlackBerry revealed in August that it would consider selling itself, and chief executive Thorsten Heins reiterated last week that a committee of its board of directors was continuing to "evaluate all options".
The BlackBerry and its physical qwerty keyboard was once the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other customers before Apple debuted the iPhone in 2007.
BlackBerry, formerly known as RIM, was also once Canada's most valuable company, with a market value of $83bn (�52bn) in June 2008.
More follows...

[JasW]

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...-table-852934/

[Hirazi Blue]

To quote the Ramones:

Woke up thinking bout you today
Why does it have to be this way
We drove each other crazy
Bye bye babe
Bye bye baby
Well I guess it's over and it's done
We had some good tiimes and we had fun
We drove each other crazy
I'll always love you

The last line is optional