Notably, RIM’s share price spiked 10% when the rumour dropped, so it’s either an indication that investors are pushing for a sale, or someone made a few bucks on the back of an unsubstantiated rumour.
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Whether or not the rumour is true, it would be in both RIM and Samsung’s best interest to not reveal details of a possible deal until negotiations were complete. A sale of certain divisions or RIM’s entire business is not out of the realm of possibility given RIM’s perilously negative trend over the last 12 months.
With rumours abounding from Canada’s Financial Post that a group of shareholders are pushing for a new corporate structure that would see Lazaridis and Balsillie step down with Barbara Stymiest as leading replacement candiate, as well as the rumour that RIM is in talks to license out BlackBerry 10 to the likes of HTC and Samsung, it definitely feels like a storm is brewing. We’ve already seen RIM officially announce Mobile Fusion, its mobile device management and security software — aimed at managing iOS, Android as well as BlackBerry devices in the enterprise, forgoing its ruling foothold in the enterprise it held for so long.
If the BGR rumour is to be believed Jim Balsillie was actively meeting with almost every company that might be interested in either a part or all of RIM, in addition to having talks about licensing, with Samsung leading the pack. With Samsung saying no, it’s not clear what to believe, but one thing is for sure, RIM’s fate will become clear in 2012.
