Monday, November 4, 2013
RIM BlackBerry abandons sales bids process, Seeking new CEO. New US$1 Billion investement.
RIM BlackBerry abandons sales bids process, Seeking new CEO. New US$1 Billion investement.
Today on the breaking news coming from the canadian site theglobeandmail RIM company of Blackberry brands mobiles is abandoning the sales bids process of the mobile division in order to reshuffle the Company with a fresh capital investement of US$1 billion from the original investor Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Fairfax had until today to complete its detailed examination of BlackBerry’s books.
The new plan will involve raising roughly $1-billion by selling convertible notes to a group of investors, according to people familiar with the transaction. Chief executive officer Thorsten Heins will depart the company, and the company will announce changes to its board, the people said.
John Chen, the former chief of Sybase Inc., will be appointed executive chairman of the board, responsible for the company's "strategic direction, strategic relationships and organizational goals."
He will be interim CEO when Mr. Heins leaves.
"BlackBerry is an iconic brand with enormous potential -- but it's going to take time, discipline and tough decisions to reclaim our success," said Chen in a statement. "I look forward to leading BlackBerry in its turnaround and business model transformation for the benefit of all of its constituencies, including its customers, shareholders and employees."
Before BlackBerry, Chen served as chairman and CEO of Sybase, an enterprise and mobile software company acquired in 2010 by SAP.
Shares of BlackBerry dropped 19 percent to $6.33 in premarket trading. The company will raise the money with a private placement of convertible debentures.
BlackBerry's largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, will take up $250 million of the debentures.
Fairfax announced a tentative $9-a-share offer for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company in late September. But Reuters said on Friday that Fairfax was struggling to finance the $4.7 billion bid.
The process attracted interest from various sources, including a potential group bid from private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, Mr. Lazaridis and chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.
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