A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the two companies met to discuss the offer, and documents seen by Reuters confirmed the report. Based on the evidence, Samsung offered to pay $13.35 to $15.49 per share to buy BlackBerry. The South Korean company’s offer stands at 38 percent to 60 percent above BlackBerry’s current trading price, the source stated. Had those terms been accepted, Samsung would have paid between $6 to 7.5 billion for the ailing smartphone maker. The conversation took place just last week, and further details remain private, the sources said.
Although the news may sound shocking, especially in light of BlackBerry CEO John Chen’s apparent commitment to reviving the company so it can stand on its own legs, Samsung’s offer didn’t come out of the blue. Recently, the two companies announced a partnership with security software between BlackBerry’s secure systems and Samsung’s Knox security feature. BlackBerry also has a number of patents and a successful enterprise suite. Neither company commented on the report, and it’s unclear whether the deal is still up for consideration or has been scrapped entirely.
Regardless, BlackBerry’s stock jumped about 30 percent during afternoon trading, after the news broke. Additionally, the company’s recent success with the BlackBerry faithful, thanks to the Classic and Passport phones, as well as the growing trend toward smart cars have given the struggling company a boost in recent months.
