We already know that BlackBerry is considering a sale, with a $4.7 billion dollar bid already having been made. Looks like two other guys might be interested, though: its co-founders, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin.
Though Lazaridis is a bit more well known and oft credited as the sole founder of BlackBerry, he and Fregin co-founded the company as Research In Motion back in 1984. Fregin acted as the company's VP of Operations until he retired in 2007; Lazaridis, meanwhile, left his role as Vice Chair of BlackBerry's board in May, about a year and a half after stepping down as CEO.
The pair have filed a 13D with the SEC, disclosing their interest in taking over the company they started. Here's the nut of it:
In light of the Issuer's recent announcement that its board of directors has formed a Special Committee to explore strategic alternatives to enhance value and increase scale, the Reporting Persons are considering all available options with respect to their holdings of the Shares, including, without limitation, a potential acquisition of all the outstanding Shares of the Issuer that they do not currently own, either by themselves or with other interested investors (an 'Acquisition').
Combining their own personal shares, those managed by their corporations, and those held in myriad family trusts, Lazaridis and Fregin already own at least 8% of the company.
It's important to note that this doesn't necessarily mean they have a concrete intent to acquire the company - just that they're considering it. According to the filing, they've brought in Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners LLC to help them weigh their options.
[ Photo Credit: textlad on flickr]
BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) is a Canadian designer, manufacturer and marketer of wireless devices and solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. The company is best known as the developer of the BlackBerry smart phone. Blackberry technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. Blackberry was founded in 1984. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific....
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Mr. Lazaridis is known in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator, and engineer of extraordinary talent. He traces his passion for his work to his hometown of Windsor, Ontario where his love of science and fascination with electronics were nurtured in supportive family and school environments. As President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), a company Mr. Lazaridis founded while a student at UW, he is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing....
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Mr. Fregin, 53, co-founded the Quantum Valley Investments Fund in March 2013 with his close friend Mike Lazaridis. Messrs. Fregin and Lazaridis also co-founded Research In Motion Limited (RIM) in 1984, which created the BlackBerry wireless device that revolutionized the communications industry. Mr. Fregin served as the Vice President of Operations and as a Director of RIM until he retired in 2007. He was instrumental in evaluating various materials, fabrication technologies and design of the first circuit boards that...
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