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BlackBerry Receives Takeover Bid Worth $4.7 Billion or $9/Share

I worked at BB eons ago. Earlier this year I had a conversation with my manager back then (a director whom worked there for over 15 years). Our discussion happened after Mike L and Balsillie stepped down.

I said they should sell BBM to Apple, Google and MS. Stop making handsets and license the hardware out. Focus on becoming a consultant that focuses on providing secure communication via BES and other services. Essentially transform to IBM in the telecommunications sector.

He thought their major downfall were due to 3 main factors: unscalable software, letting carriers call the shot on handset terms and ignoring third-party developers.

He also didn't think the management would sell the company. But need to really revamp the whole management/structure.

At this point, I would venture to say the takeover probably means the slash-and-burn will continue at a rapid pace. I can't see Fairfax becoming a patent troll - that's not their specialty. They'll probably try to turn around the company within a couple of years then take it public again.
 
Good riddance I say! I'm forced to carry around one of these monstrosities when I'm on call at work. It's painful to use. I feel like I'm on a 1970's era phone after using an iPhone for so many years.

Everybody used to rave about their keyboard. I think it sucks ass. There is NOTHING about this BB that remotely close to being considered a quality product. They break around here left and right.

And don't get me started about the BB co-CEO stupidity....

Amateur hour indeed!
 
If it goes through at least it would stay in Canada. It would be good to see this once great Canadian company make a rebound in the country of its origin.
 
Solomani said:
Fairfax Financial is primarily an insurance company. What the hell else would they do with high-tech patents that they have ZERO clue how to use? Right. Patent trolling is the only way they will make a profit and benefit from this.
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FYI, Fairfax is the largest shareholder of BlackBerry. I don't see how you can make a judgement since you have no clue who they are.
 
This sounds a lot more like Bain Capital than Berkshire Hathaway. I bet they're eyeing the patent portfolio and thinking the company may be worth more dead than alive.
 
Ryth said:
Bought for patents?
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That, their customer list and the exo-American Telecommunications Jurisdiction closed network.

It comes as no coincidence after I'm sure their review of the weekend Blackberry customer deactivation report during the iPhone 5C / 5S launch.

My take is that when this deal is done, the vultures will have landed and the corpse picking / feeding frenzy starts. I'm sure RIMs current top execs, founders and early employees are in for a sweet stock buyout while the rest are shown the Canadian equivalent of pink slips.

I gave up on RIM when they got too tight on background checks for their third party developers and abandoned third party native compiled applications just like Palm did during that swan song.

IMO, this is what Palm should have done after the Palm Pre line was a day late and a dollar short. Instead Palm is like this passed around barmaid during happy hour.
 
Sadly, whatever patents they hold will end up in the hands of patent trolls. I can't see this new holding company trying to revive Blackberry for long (if at all). They will gut the company, selling whatever assets are available. It would have been better for other tech companies (in terms of patent lawsuits) if Blackberry had remained a minor player and in control of their patent portfolio.
 
quickmac said:
60-80 million BB devices worldwide in use at last check.

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So does that mean Apple should maybe start making communication devices instead of entertainment devices in the phone market? :)
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That is a huge number of devices if they are all actually still in use. Android numbers are often reported in actually sold. But I suspect that nearly every Android sold three years or more ago is now non-operational. Certainly those devices are no longer supported. BBRY devices are still sending 10s of millions or messages and emails a day.

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peterdevries said:
True, but the company is making massive losses each quarter, and these have to be compensated somehow. Of course there are many BB's in use, but many organisations are now switchings also (Accenture, Deloitte, etc) or are implementing BYOD programs. We have also just started a BYOD program and there is not a soul in my organisation that is bringing in a BB.

I also have my doubts about Windows Phone, but my company is probably betting on a lot of BYOD users and a minority of Windows Phone users. They looked at all the possibilities and found that the integration of windows phone with our existing systems is the most cheap and easy.
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It will be interesting how folks like that. Those Windows Phones look nice but they are also kind of large and heavy. Folks might not like them.

Actually BBRY's cash flow hasn't been too bad until this quarter. This quarter they have just announced a billion dollar write down on inventory, but it will be interesting to see how much cash they have. It is cash that keeps a company going.

It will be interesting if this privatization offer goes through and at what price. $9 a share seems awfully low for a company which might still have $3 per share in cash just sitting in the bank.
 
starflyer said:
Amateur hour is over.
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It amazes me how people on this board make fun of other companies experiencing hard time. As much as i like my apple products the same thing can happen to apple.

Take your blinders off sometimes and understand that nothing lasts forever so when apple starts to experiencing bad times which it will don't get all up in arms.
 
TallManNY said:
It will be interesting how folks like that. Those Windows Phones look nice but they are also kind of large and heavy. Folks might not like them.
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Then buy one thats not large and or heavy?

Lumia 520 or Htc 8s and others I believe same size (4") and same weight .
 
giantfan1224 said:
Apple has $4.7 Billion in their couch cushions. My guess is if BB's patents were worth that, Apple would've snatched them up without a second thought.
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Unlikely. Apple has never done an acquisition even a fifth the size of that. They have the money, but Apple just does not acquire other companies at this size. They never have and it will take something big for them to do that in the future.

So it would take many many second thoughts before Apple did an acquisition of that size even if the dollar amounts are trivial.

(Not to mention, BBRY might have as much as $2 billion in cash still, so the really acquisition price is less those dollars. So we really are talking about an amount less than the cash Apple brought in this weekend.)
 
I have to say this is sad - they were on top of the mountain and failed to continually innovate. At least MS was able to jump in the game soon enough to establish a toe hold. BB just couldn't get anything out the door that the consumers wanted.
 
peterdevries said:
Agree on those points, but in my eyes it is not a complete device when it fails to deliver in browsing and apps, when the competition is well established in those fields. I have broader needs for a communication device and BB failed to address those needs.
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The browsing experience on the new BB10 phones is excellent; beats Apple even. If you don't believe me try one! Their biggest issues are brand perception and relative lack of apps. Instagram and Netflix are two apps missing that I hear people complain about the most. Skype IS available on BB10.
 
quickmac said:
I have nothing against iPhones or Androids but I never really got how a professional could use a device geared towards entertainment first as a full blown, dependable communication tool. People obviously do it, but if I'm using my phone for professional needs I need to get in , type quick, and get on to the next thing. So there's others like me that don't see how an iPhone ever is up to par with the needs of professional and not casual users.
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Is a laptop geared towards entertainment? Or a desktop PC?

iPhones and Android phones are built as general-purpose devices. They can run a huge selection of application software that has nothing to do with entertainment.
 
quickmac said:
There's users out there that want what Blackberry has to offer. Sure BB drug their feet and lost many users who defected to iPhones and Androids over the years, but there's still users out there who would get a Blackberry device if it delivered.

I have nothing against iPhones or Androids but I never really got how a professional could use a device geared towards entertainment first as a full blown, dependable communication tool. People obviously do it, but if I'm using my phone for professional needs I need to get in , type quick, and get on to the next thing. So there's others like me that don't see how an iPhone ever is up to par with the needs of professional and not casual users.

Part of the problem is marketing. They marketed BB10 horribly. Part of it's lack of apps. People who want apps won't go to Blackberry. But not everyone cares about apps and want a device that is communications first and foremost. I don't need a phone that can stream movies, play candy crush, look at instagram, and look pretty. I need a phone that lasts all day, I can type quickly on, email shows up in real time, and is dependable.
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iphones do all of that and more. There is more innovation on the professional/business side of Apple and the iPhone-iPad ecosystem in one month than in 4 years of BB.

I too had all BB devices up until the iphone came out. The problem from day 1 with BB was that its OS sucked--big time. There were minimal apps and minimal customization.

Security and IT department inertia was all that they had going for them. Both of those are now gone, as is the company.

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JediZenMaster said:
It amazes me how people on this board make fun of other companies experiencing hard time. As much as i like my apple products the same thing can happen to apple.

Take your blinders off sometimes and understand that nothing lasts forever so when apple starts to experiencing bad times which it will don't get all up in arms.
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Listen to the individual end user, not to the control freak IT department behemoth. Design your products for them. If you don't, you fail. Look at BB. Same thing eventually will happen to MS most likely. If Apple ever forgets the little guy, they will go the same way.

That's what is going on here. The tech companies that respect us little people are winning.

Are you old enough to remember the Apple "1984" Super Bowl commercial?
 
quickmac said:
Preference I suppose. I used a 9780 before I got an iPhone 4s and was back to Blackberry within 6 weeks for a 9900 model. I avoided the storm, torch, and curve which I've heard weren't Blackberry's best efforts. The 9700 and onwards were absolute beasts for communication needs. If you needed an emailing, texting, communicating in real time with good battery life type of tech, any version of BB 9700 or later was eons ahead of other devices.
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I had the Pearl, the Curve, and the Torch at different times, together they were the reason I still hate BB to this day. Horrible laggy phones, everything was in a folder in a folder, no apps, blah blah blah
 
I used to have a Blackberry, had one for three years and they were great. But they stayed the same and didn't progress beyond what the public wanted. iPhones simply were better. Sad to see them go but in the business they're in they need to adapt.
 
k995 said:
Then buy one thats not large and or heavy?

Lumia 520 or Htc 8s and others I believe same size (4") and same weight .
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I guess that is a solution. But kind of too bad that they can't make a flagship phone that isn't large and heavy. Aren't those phones underpowered? I guess it all depends on how well the OS runs on the hardware.
 
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