BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) executives met with executives from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) last week to see just how interested the social network might be in making a bid for the struggling company. That’s according to The Wall Street Journal’s Will Connors and Dana Mattioli.
Would Facebook want to buy BlackBerry?
They cite sources who say it’s still unclear whether Facebook would even want to buy BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). The struggling Canadian handset maker put itself on the auction block months ago and signed a preliminary deal with Fairfax Financial, its biggest shareholder. That deal is worth $4.7 billion or $9 per share. That offer was subject to a due diligence period, which ends next week.
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) rose more than 2% at the NASDAQ after The WSJ reported the meeting with Facebook.
Why Facebook might want BlackBerry
It’s pretty questionable about whether Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) would even want the struggling company. There have been rumors for some time that the social network was working on its own smartphone, but buying BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) may not be the wisest move, especially because as Business Insider’s Jay Yarow points out, Facebook’s smartphone software is built for Android—not BlackBerry.
The software is called Facebook Home, and it replaces the standard Android home screen with photos and status updates from the user’s friends. Yarow speculates that the only reason we’re hearing about BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s meeting with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is because the company wants to stir up more offers from parties other than Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (TSE:FFH). It certainly seems like a big stretch to imply that Facebook would ever want to drop billions on the almost-defunct company.
BlackBerry still waiting for alternative offers
BlackBerry has remained open to receiving authors from other parties, and several have been said to be interested, including BlackBerry’s cofounders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, Lenovo Group Ltd. (PINK:LNVGY) (HKG:0992) and others. BlackBerry was said to have signed a nondisclosure agreement with Cerberus Capital Management so that it could examine its financial books as well. However, no concrete offers from any parties other than Fairfax have surfaced.
