The printing presses have been spinning and people have been hearing that BlackBerry is looking for strategic alternatives. It seems that a committee has been formed to look at the future of the business.
BlackBerry Limited, a world leader in the mobile communications market, today announced that the Company’s Board of Directors has formed a Special Committee to explore strategic alternatives to enhance value and increase scale in order to accelerate BlackBerry 10 deployment. These alternatives could include, among others, possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.
BlackBerry has had management changes, staff cuts and a variety of actions to ensure the business is more streamlined. It is clear that there was a plan behind the scenes to ensure that BlackBerry would be attractive to potential investors or partners. Is this the first sign that Android and iOS have become the dominant mobile phone operating systems? BlackBerry went big – created new products (Z10, Q10 and more) and opened BBM to other businesses. Samsung has announced that they will enable BBM on their Galaxy smart phones but where does this leave BlackBerry? At the crossroads..
If BlackBerry was for sale – who would be potential buyers? Perhaps a business that wants to grow their mobile operation. Suddenly Lenovo, Microsoft and Amazon look like potential buyers. Alternatively, will BlackBerry follow the route chosen by Dell and go private? Where does this news leave BlackBerry users?
