Following yesterday’s report that Amazon considered making a bid for Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry range of smartphones, it has now emerged both Microsoft and Nokia are interested in the Canadian company too.
This would be a joint bid from the pair rather than two individual ones, showing just how strong the relationship is between the two companies. However the Wall Street Journal use of the phrase “flirted with the idea” to describe the move, indicates it perhaps didn’t get much further than initial discussions.
However, not only does the WSJ say the “status of the talks remains unclear”, but RIM’s falling stock saw a lift following the buyout talk, showing it’s not doing the company’s reputation much harm. An analyst at Bloomberg points out that RIM’s low stock price — a 78 percent fall this year and the lowest in nearly eight years — makes it a strong target for a “speculative buy.”
Like the Amazon deal, neither Microsoft, Nokia or RIM has commented on the rumors, but it’s said that Co-CEO Jim Balsillie indicated they would wait until after the first BlackBerry 10 devices go on sale before seriously considering a takeover bid. This is interesting wording, as he didn’t say they wouldn’t consider outside bids, but would prefer to wait a while before doing so.
Adding another twist to the tale is news that RIM has approached Samsung and HTC, offering them a license for the BlackBerry operating system.
As unlikely as all this buyout talk may sound, it’s ever-so slightly reminiscent of Palm’s situation last year, when the world and his dog was said to be bidding for the struggling company. HP eventually came up with the right deal, but the pair hardly lived happily ever after. Let’s hope the same fate doesn’t await RIM.
