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BlackBerry abandons $4.7 billion rescue deal and replaces CEO Thorsten Heins
If you were looking for positive news about BlackBerry's future, we'd suggest you look away. Canada's favorite smartphone maker has announced that its $4.7 billion rescue deal with Fairfax has collapsed. Instead, the company has switched to Plan B -- raising $1 billion in cash with a debt issue and waving goodbye to current CEO Thorsten Heins. The board is currently looking for a replacement, but in the meantime, John S Chen, former CEO of Sybase, which is now a part of SAP, will take the reins as interim CEO. The only thing we've yet to learn is what this means for BlackBerry's Global Creative Director, but she's probably preoccupied in the recording studio.
BlackBerry enters agreement for $4.7 billion sale of company to consortium led by Fairfax Financial
For the second time in as many trading days, shares of BlackBerry were halted in advance of some big news from the company. Today's news is no less big. BlackBerry has just announced that it's signed a letter of intent agreement for a sale of the company valued at $4.7 billion to a consortium led by Fairfax Financial (the company's largest shareholder). Pending due diligence that's expected to be completed by November 4th, the deal would see BlackBerry go private, with shareholders each receiving $9 per share in cash. In a statement, Fairfax Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said, "we believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees," adding, "we can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world." While BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has yet to offer any public comment on the news, the chair of BlackBerry's Board of Directors, Barbara Stymiest, drew attention to that due diligence period in her statement, saying that "the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium." As part of the agreement, BlackBerry would have to pay a termination fee if it accepted another offer. You can find the official announcement of the deal after the break.
