Yet another firm may be stepping into what appears to be blossoming into a healthy competition for control of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). Bloomberg’s Olga Kharif and Hugo Miller report that Coller Capital, a private-equity firm founded by Jeremy Coller, may join one of the teams preparing a bid for the struggling Canadian company.
Coller to put up some of the financing for BlackBerry
According to Bloomberg’s sources, Coller will be offering some of the financing for the bids made for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). The firm mostly deals in intellectual property, and it wants to acquire approximately 10% of the company’s patents if it is able to negotiate a deal. In addition to providing financing, the firm might share some of the royalties from licensing the patents it acquires under the deal with the winning bidder.
Bloomberg reports that Coller is working closely with several parties to make sure that it is part of a successful deal with BlackBerry. The patents which Coller is said to be particularly interested in are those relating to push notifications and messaging. Estimates suggest approximately 20% of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s value comes from its patent portfolio.
BlackBerry draws plenty of interest
BlackBerry has drawn interest from several parties since its largest shareholder Fairfax Financial made an offer. So far Fairfax’s offer is the only concrete one, however. BlackBerry and Fairfax signed a tentative agreement worth $4.7 billion. That agreement did not indicate which firms are also part of its buyout group or say that it had lined up the financing which would be necessary for the deal.
Other firms are also said to be interested in acquiring BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). books. Cerberus Capital Management is reportedly going through the company’s books, while Lenovo Group Ltd. (PINK:LNVGY) (HKG:0992) has expressed interest in being able to examining BlackBerry’s financial books.
Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin have also expressed an interest in acquiring the company they co-founded together. Regulatory filings suggested they might make an offer.
