BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) Jumps On Microsoft-Nokia Deal

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BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares jumped Tuesday after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) made an official announcement it would acquire Nokia Corp (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V)’s handset division for $7.2 billion. The Thorsten Heins-led company is considering a sale. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares rose 1.88% to $10.32 on Nasdaq. Shares of the struggling Canadian smartphone maker have declined 6.1% since the company said it is considering a sale on August 12, according to Ville Heiskanen of Bloomberg.

BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) Jumps On Microsoft-Nokia Deal

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares have fallen 15% this year so far. The Ontario-based company is also planning to spin off its messaging unit BBM. the company has lost most of its market value to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KRX:005930) (LON:BC94). BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has lost about 90% of its market value over the past three years. Though BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s new devices running on BB10 OS received rave reviews from critics, they were unable to change the company’s fortunes. The latest release Q5 has posted lukewarm sales so far.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is a direct rival of BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). Markets believe that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) decided to buy the Finnish phone maker to keep its Windows Phone OS alive. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will get the valuable manufacturing patents of Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), plus a 10-year license to use the Nokia brand.

BlackBerry gets another big blow

However, the Microsoft-Nokia deal is likely to hit BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) hard. The Canadian company has a strong presence in the enterprise market. Over the past few months, many corporates have replaced BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) devices with Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V)’s Lumia. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) already has a strong presence in enterprise software market. And the latest move suggests that the Seattle-based software giant is really serious about strengthening its position in enterprise mobile market.

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is already struggling to survive in the smartphone OS market, and the current market scenario doesn’t look promising for the company. The acquisition of Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) will ensure a more challenging smartphone environment.

Let’s see what step BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) takes next. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares traded at $10.33, up 2.08% at 10:49 AM EDT.

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