In light of recent struggles and slumping stock price, BlackBerry today confirmed that it’s looking at “strategic alternatives.”
The Candadian OEM said in a statement that it is looking at options, which could include joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the company or other possible transactions.
The company has formed a special committee of the Board to discuss its options. The committee is comprised of Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg, and will be chaired by Timothy Dattels.
With the announcement of the special committee, Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial informed the Company that he felt it was appropriate to resign due to potential conflicts that may arise during the process.
Fairfax Financial is the largest BlackBerry shareholder but Watsa said Fairfax Financial has no current intention of selling its shares.”
Trading of BlackBerry shares was halted around 7:45 ET. However, the price soared after resuming trading. As of 9 a.m. ET, BlackBerry was up over 9 percent to $10.65 in pre-market trading.
BlackBerry added that it could not offer an assurance that the process will result in any transaction.