Shares in BlackBerry rose more than 1 percent to $8.21 following a Wall Street Journal report saying the Chinese PC maker is 'actively considering a bid' for the company and has signed the non-disclosure deal required to examine its books. Lenovo has long been rumored as a potential BlackBerry suitor. Indeed, earlier this year the company's CFO Wong Wai Ming casually suggested that it had given the idea of a BlackBerry bid some thought. A few months later, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told Les Échos that an acquisition of BlackBerry ' could eventually make sense. ' So it's hardly surprising to hear the company is preparing to examine BlackBerry's finances. That Lenovo's name would pop up again now was inevitable.
Lenovo is now the world's fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, trailing behind only Samsung, Apple and LG. Acquiring BlackBerry might bolster that position a bit, giving the company a more globally renowned mobile brand and more strong carrier connections. But such a deal would be certain to face government scrutiny in Canada.
BlackBerry is Canada's largest publicly-traded tech company and its smartphones are widely used by high-ranking government and business officials there. Any deal that would put BlackBerry in the hands of a Chinese company would be closely examined. As Canada's Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the last time rumors of a Lenovo bid for BlackBerry popped up, 'We always look at foreign investment in Canada as a cause for reflection. We have to look at intelligence concerns.'
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