A breakup is inevitable if BlackBerry goes private

By IVCPOST Staff Reporter

Aug 15, 2013 05:25 AM EDT

Analysts said going private would not mean BlackBerry could stay intact as a broad hardware and software provider. Furthermore, a private equity firm's buyout plan would be the best option for BlackBerry considering it has been unsuccessful in finding a buyer since 2012.

"Some Canadians are now pinning their hopes on Fairfax, the Toronto holding company that owns close to 10% of BlackBerry shares," Sophie Cousineau of Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail said. "A financial consortium is more likely to sell BlackBerry's most valuable assets to other smartphone manufacturers, to industrial groups or to tech companies looking for patents to protect themselves against intellectual property lawsuits. BlackBerry still has a lot to offer besides its patents, such as its valuable enterprise services business. The security of its data network is unrivalled. Its BBM messenger service is still popular. But make no mistake: The company would be broken up," she added further.

Analysts added private equity firms would usually take a corporation private and sell it off in pieces so that they could recoup some of their venture capital. BlackBerry's market value slumped by USD65 billion in 2011. The company's market value suffered another USD13 billion plunge the following year which resulted to today's USD5.1 billion worth.

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