BlackBerry Ltd, which recently concluded a $1 billion convertible debt offering, said it has agreed with its debtholders to extend an option deadline attached to the deal, giving potential investors a chance to buy up to a further $250 million in convertible debt.<\/p>\n
The struggling smartphone maker last month shelved plans to sell itself and instead opted to raise funds via a $1 billion notes offering led by Fairfax Financial Holdings, its largest shareholder.<\/p>\n
In a brief statement late on Thursday, BlackBerry said the earlier announced investor option to purchase up to an additional $250 million of convertible debentures, as part of the offering, has now been extended to January 13.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry, which reports quarterly results next Friday, has been in quiet period since the closing of the initial offering.<\/p>\n
The company said the extension will enable it to provide updated financial information to prospective investors after its third-quarter 2013 results have been released on December 20.<\/p>\n
If the option is exercised, the purchase of the additional convertible debentures will be completed on or before January 16, the company said.<\/p>\n
Investors that bought into the initial debt offering include Canso Investment Counsel, Mackenzie Financial, Markel Corp, Qatar Holding, Manulife Financial and Brookfield Asset Management.<\/p>\n
BlackBerry shares on the Nasdaq are hovering around 10-year lows, on concerns of further erosion of the company’s sales. Investors fear the company’s three-month-long review of strategic options may have led to subscriber losses in the quarter ended November 30.<\/p>\n
Shares of BlackBerry were up 10 cents at C$6.00 in early trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.<\/p>\n
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