Update: Samsung has gone on record to say they have not considered acquiring RIM and are not interested in buying the BlackBerry maker.
Research in Motion has reportedly been looking at the possibility of licensing their software to companies such Samsung and HTC. None of the aforementioned firms is officially commenting on the rumors, of course, but according to trusted sources cited by Boy Genius Report, RIM is most likely leaning toward a partial or even full sale of the company, with co-CEO Jim Balsillie "going hard after Samsung" as a possible suitor.
It's not clear if the South Korean electronics giant would even be interested in such a deal, but if an acquisition goes through, RIM's 75 million BlackBerry users would vault Samsung way past Nokia to become the top mobile phone manufacturer in the world. That's a big if, however. According to the report, RIM is still actively meeting with anyone that could be interested in a buyout but everyone has balked at the $12-$15 billion asking price.
Back in December, it was reported that the Canadian firm had turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com and other potential buyers – which could have included Microsoft and Nokia – because its current situation would significantly impact suitor's offers. Back then the company supposedly said an outright sale or joint venture was not on the cards, only licensing deals or other types of commercial partnerships.
RIM's market value has dropped significantly in the last 12 months to about $7 billion following a series of disappointing quarterly reports, delayed phone launches, weak PlayBook tablet sales and a major fault in October that caused millions of BlackBerry users to lose service – among other things.