In a securities filing on Thursday, the document indicated that BlackBerry Ltd co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin had been mulling over the possibility of bidding for the smartphone maker. The new piece of information would set to challenge the USD4.7 billion buyout offered by a Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd consortium, Blackberry's top shareholder.
However, the document was not clear whether Lazaridis and Fregin would be joining Fairfax or would be presenting their own offer. The Fairfax consortium led by financier Prem Watsa had offered to buy out the beleaguered company in a USD9 per share offer. Fairfax owned 10% of the company while Lazaridis and Fregin together owned 8%. According to Thomson Reuters data, Lazaridis alone has a 5.7% stake in Blackberry as of 2012.
BGC Partners technology analyst Colin Gillis said, "He's going to talk to people by himself; he's going to talk to Prem; he's going to talk to everybody."
When asked for a comment about Blackberry's alternative offer, Fairfax refused to provide one. The company noted that although Lazaridis and Fregin might present an offer, the co-founders could consider selling their stake in Blackberry.
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