BlackBerry is considering going private in an attempt to fix its problems behind closed doors, say sources.
As the Canadian manufacturer fails to make waves in the smartphone sector with its new BlackBerry 10 OS and new smartphone range, the company is reportedly open to going private.
According to “several sources familiar with the situation”, CEO Thorsten Heins and the rest of the BlackBerry board members are considering taking the company private.
Doing so would enable the BlackBerry Z10 creator to get some privacy from the public eye so that it can attempt to fix its problems.
“There is a change of tone on the board,” said one source speaking to Reuters.
BlackBerry isn’t yet looking to start the sale process, and could potentially fail to find funding or a buyer if it did try.
The company’s market value now stands at $4.8 billion (£3.1 billion) down from $84 billion at its peak back in 2008 when its business and full QWERTY keyboard smartphones were king. Shares have also fallen 19 per cent in this year alone, despite the launch of the new BB10 OS, the BlackBerry Z10, Q10 and Q5 smartphones.
BlackBerry had pinned all its hopes on these new products to help turnaround the company’s fate, but if it is considering going private at sources say this would mark a radical move for the company.
It could also mean sales of the new BB10 smartphone range are a lot worse than originally thought, especially seeing a BlackBerry was also looking to license out its BB10 OS software too.
Going private may be the only way to save BlackBerry in the future, especially as pressure from competing smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Sony and HTC is only set to increase, as is the dominance of Google’s Android OS.
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Via: Reuters
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
