BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) Bid Defended By Prem Watsa

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BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares fell 6 percent during the regular trading day on Wednesday amidst doubts about whether the deal offered by a consortium led by Prem Watsa would actually happen. The man known as Canada’s Warren Buffett struck back though after the markets closed on Wednesday, defending his $9 per share bid for the struggling Canadian company.

Watsa assures BlackBerry shareholders

One of the main concerns analysts and investors have about the bid for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is the fact that the consortium still must line up financing in order for it to happen. Fairfax Financial and the rest of the consortium is the only one to come forward and make a bid for the company. Fairfax already owns about 10 percent of BlackBerry.

Watsa assured investors that he would push the deal through, even though it does include clauses which state that Fairfax doesn’t face a penalty if it decides not to complete the deal. The deal does, however, penalize BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) by about $150 million if it decides to back out of the offer.

According to Christopher Williams of The Telegraph, Watsa said they “thought long and hard” before offering $9 a share” and isn’t “in the business of offering a number and at the last minute changing the figure.”

Watsa says he can bring BlackBerry back

Another concern some analysts have raised about the offer made to BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) just isn’t high enough, especially if the company was broken down into pieces. But Watsa has assured investors that he has no intention to break up BlackBerry and that he will bring the company back to prosperity in one piece.

Watsa said he wants to keep BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) in Canada and “make sure it survives and exists in Canada.” He notes that sometimes companies do fall on hard times, but they come back again, and he believes BlackBerry will do the same.

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