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Qualcomm could join consortium to bid for BlackBerry: Report

Qualcomm could join consortium to bid for BlackBerry: Report

By Anupam Saxena | Updated: 4 November 2013 13:31 IST

Chipmaker Qualcomm is the latest to join the list of suitors interested in BlackBerry, if a new report is to be believed.

Qualcomm is in talks to join a possible bid for Waterloo-based smartphone giant BlackBerry, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, that cites people familiar with the matter as the source of the information.

It mentions that the chip maker is planning on joining private-equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management LP, which is reportedly in talks to join BlackBerry co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, who have expressed their desire to bid for the company.

Just a few days back, it was reported that social networking platform, Facebook, also met with BlackBerry executives, leading to speculations that Facebook could be interested in bidding for the company.

Former Apple CEO John Sculley was also said to be exploring a joint bid for smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd with partners, Canada's Globe and Mail had reported citing unnamed sources.

"The only thing I would say is, I think there's a lot of future value in Blackberry," Sculley told the newspaper. "But without experienced people who have run this type of business, and without a strategic plan, it would be really challenging."

Earlier, Chinese computer maker Lenovo had also signed a non-disclosure deal to examine BlackBerry's books. However, reservations were expressed about that bid, with the Canadian government ready to veto any foreign acquisition citing security concerns.

SAP, along with Cisco Systems Inc and Google, were also linked with BlackBerry. The SAP CFO however, later confirmed that BlackBerry does not fit its strategy.

In September, BlackBerry announced that it had accepted a $4.7 billion buyout offer from a consortium led by its largest investor, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

Monday is the deadline for any bids, so we should soon have an official word about the future of the ailing Canadian firm.

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