Andre Yoskowitz
15 Sep 2013 13:22
According to Reuters, a handful of private equity firms are looking into BlackBerry, but there has so far been a very lukewarm response to buying the whole company.
Instead, the buyers seem interested in different parts of the struggling smartphone maker.
The company is currently valued at just above $5 billion, but in a break up could be worth upwards of $10 billion. BlackBerry's assets include the "services business that powers its security-focused messaging system, worth $3 billion to $4.5 billion; a collection of patents that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion; and $3.1 billion in cash and investments."
Of course, the hardware business is worthless, but will cost up to $2 billion to liquidate entirely.
The report says at least five PE firms have "signed confidentiality agreements or have agreed to meetings with the company to gain access to the company's books." The sale process will likely start in a few weeks.