BlackBerry refutes rumors about Samsung's takeover bid

Himanshu Arora

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In the wake of reports suggesting a possible Blackberry takeover by Samsung, the struggling Canadian smartphone maker has come out with an official statement denying the rumors.

"BlackBerry is aware of certain press reports published today with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry," the company said, adding that it "has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry."

Quite ironically, the company also claimed that it doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation. "BlackBerry’s policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly it does not intend to comment further."

Yesterday, Reuters published a report claiming that Samsung had approached BlackBerry about a potential takeover for as much as $7.5 billion, with an eye on the smaller company’s patent portfolio.

The report, which cited a person familiar with the matter as well as documents pertaining to the proposal, also noted that executives from both companies, which are working with advisers, had a meeting last week to discuss a potential transaction.

The South Korean company is said to have proposed an initial price range of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, representing close to a 60 percent premium over BlackBerry's current value. Following the report, the latter's stocks soared by as much as 29 percent in afternoon trading, just before the markets closed.

When reached out for a comment, Samsung also denied the acquisition reports, terming them as groundless.

Back in November last year, both BlackBerry and Samsung announced a partnership to integrate the former's BES12 mobile-security software with the latter's Galaxy-branded devices embedded with the Knox platform.

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