Blackberry takeover plan falls through

Blackberry stocks dived after a planned takeover collapsed.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The share price of Blackberry dived yesterday (November 5th) after a proposed takeover of the smartphone manufacturer collapsed.

Its stocks dropped by 16 per cent after a planned deal with major shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings fell through.

Chief executive Thorsten Heins is now stepping down from the role as the firm pursues new options, with former Sybase chief executive John Chen taking over as interim boss. Mr Chen will be aiming to raise $1 billion (£627 million) in fresh financing to secure the company's future.

BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis stated that he expects Blackberry to face a "downward spiral" on the back of the collapse of the Fairfax deal.

"They've got $1bn more cash that buys them time. The drumbeat of negativity is likely to continue," he said.

Blackberry has lost ground on smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia and Apple over the course of the last few years.

The proposed Fairfax takeover had been reported to be worth as much as $4.7 billion, but Blackberry confirmed yesterday this is now not going ahead.

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