Canadian government blocked potential Lenovo bid for BlackBerry over security concerns
The BlackBerry of today could've been a Chinese-controlled company -- if the Canadian government hadn't put its foot down, that is. A report in The Globe and Mail, citing inside sources, claims the government feared a Lenovo takeover would compromise national security given how connected BlackBerry's business is with the country's communications infrastructure. Though Lenovo was apparently very serious about moving forward with acquisition talks, the government's objections were so strong that BlackBerry never bothered to submit a formal proposal for consideration. That and the fact that BlackBerry also desperately needed a speedy solution to stem its downward spiral; something a pending merger would only exacerbate. No matter now though, as BlackBerry's since abandoned takeover talks in favor of financing and ousting failed CEO Thorsten Heins.
