Blackberry forms committee to explore possible sale

Smartphone maker Blackberry has formed a committee to explore strategic options for the business, which could lead to the sale of the company. The company wants to look at options to increase sales of its Blackberry 10 smartphone and could also include joint ventures or partnerships. Timothy Dattels, a Blackberry board member, will chair the new committee. "We believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives," said Mr Dattels. "During the past year, management and the board have been focused on launching the Blackberry 10 platform and BES 10, establishing a strong financial position and evaluating the best approach to delivering long-term value for customers and shareholders." Prem Watsa, chairman of Blackberry's largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial, resigned from the board as the formation of the committee was announced. Mr Watsa said he wanted to avoid any potential conflict of interest. "I continue to be a strong supporter of the company, the board and management as they move forward through this process, and Fairfax Financial has no current intention of selling its shares," he said. The company has struggled in recent years to regain market share lost to Apple and users of Google's Android operating system. The company dropped its Research in Motion name in January 2013 and rebranded as Blackberry, to coincide with the launch of the Blackberry 10 model. In its most recent quarter, Blackberry lost $84m (£54m) and expects to lose more money in the three months to the end of September. Continue reading the main story Analysis Leo Kelion Technology reporter Blackberry's problem isn't that its new smartphones are no good, but rather that it took so long to get them to market. When the firm announced it was buying QNX Software Systems back in April 2010, it made clear that the purchase was designed to help it update its operating system. By that point, Apple's iOS and Google's Android had already started to eat into its market share, but the Canadians still accounted for about one in five smartphones shipped. However, repeated delays meant it wasn't able to start selling BB10 handsets until the end of January this year. Although reviews praised the OS for its unified messaging hub and virtual keyboard, neither were seen as "killer features", and perhaps more crucially, its app marketplace is less well-stocked. The result is that Blackberry is able to offer devices that make appealing upgrades to its loyal followers, but consumers and firms who have already switched platforms and other purchasers might see little reason to pick the 'berry. Source