It seems only a short while ago that we were discussing the future of BlackBerry and their ongoing plight. Now, perhaps, help is on the horizon in the shape of Lenovo. According to several articles Lenovo have sighed a no-disclosure agreement with BlackBerry that will allow them to view the Canadian company’s financial accounts. After putting themselves up for sales earlier this year BlackBerry have seen the welcoming news in the past few weeks about the BBM app achieving 10 million downloads in only a very short space of time.
BlackBerry still have a large number of government and corporate customers who utilise the platform so any acquisition by any company will have numerous interested parties. The regulators are sure to take a long hard look at any proposition given the size and account base BlackBerry possess. Indeed BlackBerry has already reached a preliminary multi-billion deal with a party called Fairfax Financial Holdings. Fairfax and Lenovo could not be the only offers heading Canada’s way as Mike Lazaridis one of the co-founders of BlackBerry is reportedly working with a group that could be interested in purchasing this once market leading brand.
The majority of BlackBerry users often cite the security the platform offers as major reason for the continued use – something which is especially important for corporations and governments. The purchasing of said brand by a Chinese company who has allegedly had very poor levels of commitment to personal privacy could instantly turn customers away from the brand. You could argue why companies and consumers buy Lenovo laptops but it would appear that mobiles are bigger security list in some consumer’s eyes.
According to an article on the Reuter website under the ’Investment Canada Act’ the federal government has a wide range of powers when it comes to overseas business buying up Canadian companies – including blocking deals that are not deemed as bringing any net benefit to the country or if it believes the deal possess a threat to national security. That’s not to imply that a deal selling to Lenovo would be a threat to national security or not in Canada’s interest but it does make the process a lot more interesting to watch!
