Amazon, Microsoft & Nokia all looked at buying RIM

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 22 December 2011 07:33

IT Industry - Deals

Rumours are circulating that Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia have  had informal or formal merger discussions with Research in Motion in recent months, but with none of these discussions progressing to the stage of a formal bid.

 

Commenting on the reports, Kris Thompson, an analyst with Canada's National Bank Financial said: "We continue to view near-term M&A for RIM as very unlikely given the company's dismal performance and uncertain outlook. We predict BlackBerry unit shipments will deteriorate significantly into next year ahead of BB10 product launches; this has to scare buyers off for now."

He added: "The journalist reports also suggest that RIM's board prefers to allow the Co-CEOs time to turn the company around. We view the Co-CEOs' recent reduction in their annual salaries to $1 each as an indication that they are not planning any departure from their roles.

"We continue to expect the stock will trade into the single digits as the company's fundamentals worsen. We expect the vultures to circle and to wait for a lower entry point; if M&A bids surface."

"There can be no certainty that the BB10 operating system is a success especially as the RIM developer ecosystem abandons the platform for iOS, Android and Windows. We expect RIM's service business to peak in F2013. We continue to believe M&A candidates are few, and that valuing RIM's intellectual property is challenging."