The recent BlackBerry – Xiaomi merger rumors have been shunned by Bin Lin, Xiaomi’s cofounder, who has asked people not to air the rumors. Lin made certain comments on Weibo which were misinterpreted by G for Games as referring to a possible acquisition of BlackBerry by the Chinese phone maker, says a report from BGR. This acted as a catalyst to the rumors, suggesting that Xiaomi is looking to take over BlackBerry.
A rumor indeed
However, later it was found by BGR that the comments regarding the acquisition were, in fact, made by another Weibo user who specified the deal as real. Lin just happened to reciprocate to this comment by saying, “We do not pass rumors.” The translation of Lin’s statements by G for Games was considered at face value, as the website is known for providing precise translations of news published by Asian publications, says BGR.
Moreover, a Xiaomi spokesperson confirmed that Lin’s remarks have been translated incorrectly, stating that the claims indicating a BlackBerry – Xiaomi deal are, indeed, “not true at all.”
BlackBerry – Xiaomi merger unlikely
Besides, even if the rumors were true, it is highly unlikely that American governments would ever approve such a deal. Somewhat similar rumors in 2014 suggested that Chinese company Huawei was aiming to buy BlackBerry. But officials from both the U.S. and Canada claimed that they would never consider such a merger. BlackBerry is still a big name in the security domain as it provides crucial secure mobile communication services to a number of Western governments. As a matter of fact, U.S. President Barack Obama, U.K. PM David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel use BlackBerry devices.
Moreover, government officials from the U.S. and Canada would hate to see BlackBerry in the hands of China. Thus, considering this and the reputation of Xiaomi in the mobile security section, which is even worse than that of Huawei, it seems pretty impractical to expect that a BlackBerry – Xiaomi deal could be possible.
The Canadian smartphone maker has been at the epicenter of several M&A rumors in the past few years, and evidently none of them have been true. Though all the rumors of Xiaomi acquiring BlackBerry turned out to be nothing, they helped in pushing BlackBerry stock.
On Thursday, BlackBerry shares closed up 0.31% at $9.74, and year to date, the stock is down by almost 12%.
