The BlackBerry saga took an interesting turn on Monday when BlackBerry announced that it had a change of heart. The company took itself off the table, ousted CEO Thorsten Heins and said it would take a $1 billion loan from Fairfax Financial, which reportedly wasn’t able to raise enough cash for its proposed $4.7 billion buyout. What major strategic changes will BlackBerry make in an effort to reverse course and right the ship? We have no idea, but that $1 billion should help a bit in the meantime. And according to Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb, BlackBerry may have another huge chunk of cash coming its way very soon.
BlackBerry has reported operating losses in five of its last seven quarters as the company’s struggles worsened. All those losses could end up helping BlackBerry now that it’s on the hunt for cash, though, and Forbes explains why.
“Losses aren’t always a bad thing,” Phillips Erb wrote. “Those losses may offer the company a silver lining. Like the U.S., Canada offers companies the ability to carry losses forward and backwards. That means that losses in one year can offset profits in a prior year (or if none, carried forward to future years) to reduce tax bills. Since those tax bills have already been paid, that means potential refunds. How much of a potential refund? Maybe as much as $1 billion.”
BlackBerry is rumored to be in negotiations with the Canadian government, seeking a tax refund of as much as $1 billion by the end of 2013.
