According to several sources, BlackBerry Ltd is currently considering the possibility of taking the company private. Going private is defined as a single deal or a series of transactions that would convert a publicly traded corporation into a private unit. The Waterloo, Ontario-based corporation continued to struggle in reviving its fortunes which led to its current considerations.
BlackBerry's Chief Executive Thorsten Heins and the smartphone maker's board were thinking of going private since it would provide them the breathing room to fix the company's problems out of the limelight. BlackBerry's stakes dropped more than 19% this year. Its market value also plunged from a record in 2008 of US$83 billion to 2013's US$4.8 billion.
"There is a change of tone on the board," one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
The source said that BlackBerry and Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, talked about a possible partnership in enterprise computing. Silver Lake, together with Dell founder Michael Dell bid US$25 billion to take Dell Inc private. If Silver Lake succeeds in its buyout plan for Dell, it is likely to collaborate with BlackBerry. However, the source noted that BlackBerry's talks with Silver Lake did not include a buyout or any other transaction-associated discussions.
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