After a dramatic attempt to recover the company after the release of its latest products, the for sale sign is now up.
BlackBerry has just announced that it is now officially exploring alternatives for the company’s future, and the fact that it is considering its sale among those options is making top technology news headlines.
The company, based in Waterloo, Canada, was once considered to be the industry leader and just recently dropped into fourth place.
Shares in the company have been halted as of August 12 as the company has been investigating various options for its future existence. This technology news was expected by many, but is a harsh reminder to the current market leaders that this industry can take a company that appears to be an unrivaled leader and rapidly knock the pins out from under it in a very short period of time.
BlackBerry has now officially released the technology news that the “for sale” sign is going up.
The company released a technology news statement that said that it is now looking for a sale, in addition to other similar options such as potential joint ventures, as well as strategic alliances and partnerships. Industry experts are seeing this as a desperate last-ditch effort to rescue the company.
According to John-Kurt Pliniussen, a professor at the School of Business at Queen’s University, “This is an SOS. It’s basically, save or sell.” He added that “It is no longer business as usual — it is in a six-month period of transition.”
A TPG Capital senior partner, Timothy Dattels, will be leading a special committee to seek out alternatives to what could otherwise be devastating technology news. TPG is among the largest private equity firms in the world, and the committee includes BlackBerry’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, as well as board chair Barbara Stymiest, Bert Nordberg, and Richard Lynch.
Prem Watsa, a billionaire from Toronto who owns the largest BlackBerry shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, has also made technology news, as he has resigned his board of directors seat, stating that the process could lead to “potential conflicts”. That said, he still states that he is a “strong supporter of the company”.