On Monday, BlackBerry's shares rose following the company's confirmation of speculation that it would "consider strategic alternatives." The company verified it hired JPMorgan to help it explore its options. It added that it has already formed a special committee that would take care of the company's strategic alliances.
However, analysts said BlackBerry's consideration was long overdue since its stocks dropped by more than 90% in the last five years. They suggested a sale would mark the conclusion of one of the corporate history's great collapses.
"By the time Blackberry was ready to ship out into the spotlight, which took forever, it was just too late," Iron Capital's analyst, Eric Jackson, said. Jackson said BlackBerry's failure to frequently release new line of phones accounted for the company's decline. He noted that by the time BlackBerry CEO Thorstein Heins' group got the latest product "just right," the definition had already changed. Jackson said BlackBerry's patents were not getting any fresher. The company's track record as a mobile operator was not good. Furthermore, the USD2 billion cash on its balance sheet would not attract several bidders.
"Maybe this thing slouches down to USD5 or USD6 bucks and gets taken out for USD8 or USD9," Jackson stated. "I think we have some pain before we see that kind of scoop up."
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