Lenovo still interested in BlackBerry acquisition, may happen this week

[Shawn Knight]

Canadian regulators may have squashed Lenovo’s plans to acquire BlackBerry last year but apparently they’re not giving up the fight just yet. The Chinese company is preparing to make a public bid for the Canadian handset maker as soon as this week according to a report from financial news site Benzinga.com.

Unnamed sources reportedly told the publication that Lenovo is gearing up to offer BlackBerry $15 per share – a nice premium over the $9 or so the stock has been trading at as of late. Should BlackBerry turn down the initial offer, sources say Lenovo would be willing to increase its offer to $18 per share.

Spokespeople for both BlackBerry and Lenovo declined to comment on the matter.

News of an acquisition first made headlines well over a year ago when a couple of Lenovo executives expressed interest in a deal. The company backtracked shortly after, claiming that reports were taken out of context.

Many believe that a deal between the two was certainly on the tablet. The problem, however, is that the Canadian government wouldn’t have given its approval due to national security concerns. The handset maker still has a decent following among those in the government and with enterprise clients, adding a bit of credibility to the claim.

If regulators wouldn’t have approved a deal then, it’s hard to imagine why they’d allow for an acquisition now.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/58506-lenovo-interested-blackberry-acquisition-may-happen-week.html

 

[RzmmDX]

Plus Lenovo already has Motorola.

 

[Greg S]

National Security aka Canada is using pre-2004 technology and needs upgrading first.

 

[psycros]

IMO, Lenovo has proven that its trustworthy. Their not a company with strong ties to the Chinese military like Huwei. They haven't stolen designs from anyone so far as we know - and you KNOW they get extra scrutiny precisely because their Chinese-owned. Lenovo build some of the most widely deployed department-scale servers, for heaven's sake. Canada's concerns about a possible buyout are probably based more on national pride than security. Blackberry inarguably changed how we communicate. Many of their products were simply landmark devices. They aren't merely one of the most successful Canadian companies but one of the best known and the most influential. The thought of Blackberry being sold to a foreign company, particularly one that's based in China, should give even non-Canadians pause. The fact that BB is already being run by a former Lenovo executive is probably invoking the ghost of Nokia as well. My guess is that Ottawa is hoping to see how the newest BB devices sell before they give up on their once-great tech dynamo. If the Passport and Classic do well I'd say there's no way they'll let the deal go through. However, if revenues don't increase by the end of Q1 next year I think you'll see the Canadian regulators start warming to the idea of a buyout (especially if Lenovo pledges to minimize further job cuts).

 

[Lionvibez]

National Security aka Canada is using pre-2004 technology and needs upgrading first.

You're a fool if you actually believe that.

"If regulators wouldn’t have approved a deal then, it’s hard to imagine why they’d allow for an acquisition now."

This!

The security concerns haven't changed this will be denied again.