Samsung has moved to deny reports it is planning an acquisition of BlackBerry, saying it only wishes to boost its partnership with the Canadian smartphone manufacturer.
Reports last week had suggested a takeover worth around £5 billion could be imminent, although both companies quickly shot down the speculation.
On Monday, the company’s co-chief executive and mobile chief J.K. Shin told the Wall Street Journal he is only interested in developing the existing partnership with the firm, rather than acquiring it.
“We want to work with BlackBerry and develop this partnership, not acquire the company,” he said (via Android Central).
After the Reuters report (which the agency continues to stand behind) emerged last week, many speculated Samsung may be chasing BlackBerry’s wealth of patents in order to boost its own mobile line-up.
However,
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Samsung and BlackBerry’s partnership dates back to November last year, when two firms announced a deal to provide end-to-end security support for enterprise users.
The Korean company said it would be using BlackBerry’s security expertise to boost its own KNOX platform in order to add enhanced levels of security for users on the firm’s Galaxy-branded handsets and tablets.
What the extension of that partnership may entail remains to be seen, but today’s developments certainly seem to confirm BlackBerry won’t be ending up a Samsung-owned company any time soon.
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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.
