BlackBerry Could Go Private

Amongst troublesome CEOs, product delays, software delays, and market share reduction, BlackBerry just keeps on trying. However, despite finally releasing Blackberry 10 OS and phones with more current features, the company still finds itself unable to make a comeback. Last week, the company reported a $1 Billion loss and a planned layoff of 4,500 employees. Yesterday, Fairfax Financial, the company’s largest shareholder, made an offer to buy the company at $9 a share, an estimated $4.7 Billion. According to “BlackBerry plans to go private” by Julianne Pepitone of CNNMoney.com, “shareholders were skeptical that Fairfax’s deal could even go through: Shares of BlackBerry traded slightly below the amount that Fairfax was offering on Monday”. Fairfax already has a plan for the drowning company; the CEO Prem Watsa wants to take the company private.

The article reports,  “the company has until Nov 4 to find a better offer before proposing Fairfax’s plan to shareholders”. Unless a bigger company (like Amazon or Google size) is willing to invest the dollars and time to reframe and re-introduce a “new” BlackBerry with superior products while under the pressure of maintaining stock value, going private seems reasonable. The article mentioned both the company and Fairfax hope to focus solely on corporate clients to rebuild the brand. However, the name BlackBerry, whether with the corporate or private consumers, doesn’t have as much weight as Apple, Samsung, or Android. The company also has to work to gain morale amongst current and future investors and employees. Maybe a new name could also be as valuable as a new owner and going private.