“Research In Motion’s dismal quarterly results, the latest in a string of disappointments by the BlackBerry maker, could prove a boon to prospective buyers eying its treasure trove of wireless patents,” Alastair Sharp and Sinead Carew report for Reuters.
“RIM’s shares took a beating on Friday, tumbling as much as 24 percent, a day after it reported earnings and issued an outlook that gave shareholders little reason to expect an imminent turnaround by the once proud Canadian technology giant,” Sharp and Carew report. “Even so, the battered stock price will burnish its allure as an acquisition target… While RIM has long been rumored to be in the sights of cash-rich Microsoft, that option became less likely with the software giant’s tie-up with Nokia. Many now point to a private sale as a way to take pressure of the Canadian company while it weighs its next move.”
Sharp and Carew report, “RIM’s patent portfolio would take on special interest in any calculation of RIM’s worth. Tech companies have become increasingly interested in controlling patents to ward off expensive infringement litigation. RIM has more than 2,000 patents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was a part of a consortium that nabbed a portfolio of patents from bankrupt Nortel Networks.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Beleaguered RIM hemorrhaging market share faster than some analysts expected – September 16, 2011
Beleaguered RIM reports precipitous drop in quarterly profit, weak sales; stock plummets – September 15, 2011
Only about 12 some billion dollars ± 60% appreciation/depreciation fees. C’mon Larry, Curly and Moe Pages of Googlerola, I dare ya, go for it.
Wasn’t RIM itself involved in a major patent dispute with a patent holding company that nearly shut RIM down?
Apple could buy RIM with next quarters profit. Not that they’d want to.
Yeah, they’d be paying twice for the Nortel patents.
One, they’re Canadian, so the government has got to approve the potential sale. Two, parties are only interested in buying if they are in NEED of patents. Companies like Apple don’t buy patents for the sake of having patents. They purchased the Nortel patents so they wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands, like Google’s. Now that Google has a trove of Motorola and IBM patents, there’s probably less pressure on everyone to buy more. Methinks the patent auction spree is over. Interdigital, Kodak and Blackberry are not worth as much as their investment bankers think they are worth.
I wonder who would want a patent on a mechanical QWERTY keyboard? Perhaps Microsoft?
BOy that’s something … It’s like buzzards circling overhead. Waiting on R.I.M. to die so they can pick over the bone pile.