BlackBerry is reportedly warming up to the idea of breaking the company apart and selling off the pieces. The news comes from an unnamed inside source speaking with Bloomberg, and it is seemingly a direct result of concerns that Fairfax Financial may not be able to secure funding for the buyout it agreed to in late September. BlackBerry and Fairfax announced last month that the latter would purchase BlackBerry and all of its assets for $9 a share, or about $4.7 billion. Fairfax had not yet secured financing for the deal, however, and now other companies such as Google, Samsung and Intel have shown interest in acquiring pieces of BlackBerry’s business. “If you break up the company, you’re going to get more than the company is worth right now,” Albert Fried & Co. analyst Sachin Shah told Bloomberg. “Breaking it up sounds more appetizing for all involved.” If the Fairfax deal doesn’t go through, BlackBerry will be owed a $0.30 per share breakup fee.
BlackBerry considers breakup if Fairfax fails to find funding
Published Oct 10th, 2013 8:55AM EDT
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
