Recent events involving struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry sparked a dive in its share price and cast deep-seated fears among stakeholders. And thus far, the promise of a BlackBerry turnaround seems doubtful, if not bleak.
BlackBerry shares plunged after the Ontario-based company turned down proposals to sell all or parts of itself to tech giants and settled with a USD1 convertible bond deal instead. BlackBerry shares are currently at USD6.50, giving it a market value of USD3.38 billion, a far cry from its USD80 billion peak.
BlackBerry's long-term investors are positive that it can make a comeback. John Chen, acclaimed for the Sybase turnaround in the late 1990s, was named interim CEO and executive chairman. Since the Canadian company carries no debt, the financing deal puts BlackBerry investors and executives in a strong position albeit failure of the turnaround plan.
And while most are anticipating whether or not the struggling company can be restored to its former glory, stakeholders, especially employees, are laboring the heavy toll of BlackBerry's monumental fall.
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