BlackBerry goes private

[HeyCori]

Fingers crossed that this works out for the best

BlackBerry going private: What does it all mean now that it

 

[gsquared]

There a long way from that. Don't think there will not be one hell of a fight. This is no Dell deal. Even though BB is not doing well this deal grossly undervalues them. You don't think its more than mere coincidence BB pre-released those horrible numbers on Friday and a buyout offer coming the very next business day.

I think this bid is nothing but bait to lure some other buyers out. However this goes I cannot see the company getting a majority shareholder vote to let them go private.

 

[Reflexx]

Come on MS... BlackBerry is calling you.

 

[dkediger]

There is nothing but heartache for Microsoft if they acquire BB. There is nothing BB has that MS needs, plus you get a very entitled and committed (to the BB platform) user base. Anything you do that doesn't involve advancing the BB platform will get you vitriol.

 

[gsquared]

dkediger is right. MSFT buying BB is a bad idea. They have nothing MSFT needs.

There's only one upside play to BB and that is they have no debt and 2.5 to 3 B in cash plus a bunch IP's of really unknown value. I think the best move for shareholders is to start selling the company off in parts while cash-cowing the remaining BB 7 userbase. Stop all production on BB10 and the related devices.

 

[RJ Priest]

It's a shame, because BB10 is really a great OS (although I prefer WP).

I was really hoping for something like a Sony-BB partnership. My main problem with BB10 is the hardware design and the terrible camera tech. BB10 running on Sony hardware would be tempting, because not only would it look good, but would have some decent camera technology as well. I'd have a hard time leaving WP even for that though.

I see little benefit for MS to buy BB. There is no way that Microsoft would want to run two operating systems (unless to use BB10 strictly as an enterprise solution, and offer QNX for automotive). There is no way that MS would discard WP for BB10 in the consumer market for countless reasons, among which would include losing the "3 screens" plan, as you wouldn't be easily developing applications to run on both the Win8 kernel and QNX kernel.

I hope that harm towards BB employees is minimal, and that Heins doesn't escape with $50 million while 40% or more of hard working employees lose their source of income.

 

[Reflexx]

They've been in the game a while.

Does anyone know how their patent portfolio looks? I imagine that it would be pretty decent.

 

[fatclue_98]

There is nothing but heartache for Microsoft if they acquire BB. There is nothing BB has that MS needs, plus you get a very entitled and committed (to the BB platform) user base. Anything you do that doesn't involve advancing the BB platform will get you vitriol.

Any extreme base will give you vitriol regardless of industry. Remember the "New Coke" back in '85? From where I sit, any group of people so extreme is not good for business.

 

[gsquared]

They've been in the game a while.

Does anyone know how their patent portfolio looks? I imagine that it would be pretty decent.

Thats the real unknown. They may be holding a bunch of IP's but they can become worthless at a moments notice should new technology be introduced.

Looking at their stock price since the announcement Wall St. also doesn't think this deal will happen.

 

[dkediger]

Yeah - I don't think their IP is terribly valuable anymore from a strategic point of view - or else they would be using it defensively already. Its either been worked around, or is contributed as SEP (Standards Essential Patent), in which case it can only provide modest income.

Going forward, their most valuable property that would require the least swallowing is probably QNX. All the rest just gives you headaches that none of the Big 3 (MS/Apple/Google) want/need.

If HP hadn't already shot the moon with Palm, they might have been able to make sense with BB. They could keep the government services side running, while trying to re-establish growth in the enterprise. After the Palm fiasco though, I doubt their board would consider any proposal with a straight face. IBM as well might be able to pursue this same strategy, but then they've done pretty good by staying away from pitching user-facing home-grown solutions.

Strangely, I could see Samsung trying to make something of BBM - ported over as a messenger hub into Tizen and even into all their other media devices.

 

[apalm8]

Hopefully Z30 will help them get back on their feet.