A dramatic new chapter was opened in the more and more complicated history of BlackBerry Limited. The plan of acquisition by Canadian financial holding company Fairfax Financial failed, an alternative agreement was started that still involves Fairfax together with other companies and it a change of CEO was decided.
The acquisition attempted by Fairfax was far from certain and the offer didn’t exclude the possibility to search for other agreements. BlackBerry’s managment hoped to find other potential buyers but beyond the rumors that are normal in these situations no real offers arrived.
One of the key parameters for the acquisition by Fairfax was the value of BlackBerry shares, which according to the analysis was supposed have to reach $9. Yesterday was the final day for the negotiation and the value didn’t reached the value thrshold, therefore, the hope for an agreement vanished.
Yesterday, BlackBerry announced a very different alternative agreement still involving Fairfax and other investors. This group will invest in convertible bonds at a price of $10 per share for a total of a billion dollars of which a quarter is spent by Fairfax. The Canadian financial holding company already owned 10% of BlackBerry shares and now will strengthen its position.
A consequence of the failed acquisition is the change in the top managment: the CEO Thorsten Heins (photo courtesy of BlackBerry Limited. Unauthorized use is not permitted) has been replaced ad interim by John S. Chen, who until January 2013 was CEO and president of Sybase, a company he saved from bankruptcy.
The American Nasdaq Stock Exchange didn’t take well these new BlackBerry plans since yesterday the company’s shares have lost about 16% over the course of the day. It was an inevitable consequence of the uncertainty existing at this point around the company, whose crisis is getting worse and worse.
The optimistic phrases contained in the press release issued by BlackBerry seem more than ever a facade. At this point they need ideas clear and decisive action to try to save the company. For the moment, however, there have been only partial acquisitions of shares that have increased the uncertainty.
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