Research In Motion reportedly cut short takeover talks with Amazon and other companies, preferring to instead attempt to solve its own financial woes. Reuters broke news of the discussions Tuesday evening. Amazon allegedly hired an investment bank to help guide discussions with the BlackBerry maker, but it’s unclear how far along the talks got before RIM turned the retail giant away. Sources speaking to Reuters said RIM is not currently interested in a sale or a joint venture and would instead prefer to license its technology. “Selling the company or an economic joint venture is probably not in the cards right now,” the anonymous source told Reuters. “Until you stabilize the platform, people are going to be very nervous about spending $10 billion or more.” Read on for more.
Several analysts have suggested that RIM needs to change its leadership to turn the ship around. Jaguar Financial Corporation, which holds 5% of RIM’s stock, asked the company to consider a sale last week and called on directors to “seize the reins to maximize shareholder value before more market value is lost.” While RIM’s global subscriber based continued to grow during the third quarter, the company has lost market share in the United States. Reuters also said the company’s market value has slid 77% to $6.8 billion over the past year.
