“The plunge in Research In Motion’s (RIMM) share price has fueled speculation that the maker of smartphones is vulnerable to a takeover—but buyers are unlikely to go BlackBerry-picking anytime soon. Shares of the Waterloo (Ont.) company got pummeled again on Oct. 20, dropping 5.21, or more than 8%, to 53.80. The catalyst was a series of bearish research reports from analysts,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for BusinessWeek.
“Peter Misek, an analyst at Canaccord Adams, was quoted in a recent Reuters report as suggesting Microsoft (MSFT) may be interested should the shares fall much further,” Hesseldahl reports. “An accelerating rivalry with Apple (AAPL) and an economic slowdown that threatens to curb demand for BlackBerrys are contributing to talk of RIM’s vulnerability.”
“Further stock price weakness, the theory goes, might elicit a bid from Microsoft, particularly in the wake of its failed pursuit of Yahoo,” Hesseldahl reports. “Microsoft has more to gain from RIM in the wireless arena than it did from Yahoo on the Web, Misek argues. ‘Microsoft has already lost the war over search as currently defined,’ he says. ‘It’s now at risk for losing the next search war, in the mobile world.'”
“As appealing as the hookup may be, there are greater reasons for Microsoft to stay on the sidelines,” Hesseldahl reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em!
Hey MDN,
I’m still waiting for your announcement that Apple was going to acquire Adobe. I looked like an idiot gloating that one to my PC-toting office colleagues.
Microsoft cannot be BOTH the partner supplying Window Mobile to mobile phone makers AND a seller of competing mobile phones. Oh wait, they are already doing that with Zune. And that venture is going so well. OK, Microsoft, go ahead and buy RIM.
Poor RIM!
In M$ perspective, buying out RIM would seem a perfect move… Well! Now exept M$ has NO sense of perspective. Worse their lack of philosophy and their total missunderstanding of the foundamental economical changes happening this days is just grounging them flat.
M$ still works on old shemas… let them buy whatsoever. They’ll only pervert whatever they tuch!
R.I.P. RIM