BlackBerry’s biggest shareholder has approached several large Canadian investment funds about forging a deal to take the smartphone maker private, but the proposal is still “an airy-fairy, ‘what if’ kind of thing,” according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.<\/p>\n
The shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, has a 10 percent stake, and its chairman and chief executive, Prem Watsa, has left BlackBerry’s board already to avoid any possible conflict of interest as the company assesses its strategic options.<\/p>\n
The source, who declined to be identified because the still-preliminary talks are private, said that in addition to Watsa’s Fairfax there had been an early and informal approach about a possible deal from another investor.<\/p>\n
The person declined to name the second party.<\/p>\n
“There have been various calls saying ‘if we came up with some kind of a proposal would you look at it?’,” the source said.<\/p>\n
Fairfax did not respond to a request for comment, and Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry said it does not comment on speculation.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry, which has bled market share to rivals including Apple’s iPhone and phones using Google’s Android technology, said last month it was weighing its options, which could include an outright sale.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry shares rose more than 6 percent on Monday after Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper said Watsa was closing in on a rescue deal for BlackBerry, with support from Canada’s influential pension funds.<\/p>\n
The big funds, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, declined to comment.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry shares closed at $11.53 on the Nasdaq, up from $10.84 at the close on Friday, giving the company a market capitalization of just over $6 billion.<\/p>\n
The source said any deal would likely involve more than one of Canada’s powerful pension funds, which would have to weigh the possible benefits of helping a fallen Canadian icon with the risks of getting involved in such a deal.<\/p>\n
If a concrete proposal was on the table – something that is not yet the case – things would likely “go quiet” while investors looked at their options, the source said.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry sale gets more serious<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n BlackBerry to explore alternative strategies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Going private is no panacea for BlackBerry<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n