The Special Committee of the Board is comprised of Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg, and will be chaired by Timothy Dattels.
The admittance of the fact has finally arrived. BlackBerry has announced the formation of a special committee that will “explore strategic alternatives”. The company says this is to look at new ways of enhance brand value, and also to accelerate BlackBerry 10’s growth. The Special Committee of the Board is comprised of Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg, and will be chaired by Timothy Dattels.
But, the rather telling statement comes in the form of “These alternatives could include, among others, possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.” Quite clearly, the company has, to a certain extent, admitted that it needs to look at the option of selling. However, as expected, BlackBerry is still playing up the product – BlackBerry 10, the on-the-cards cross-platform BlackBerry Messenger and the wider deployment of BlackBerry Enterprise offerings.
For this process, BlackBerry has hired J.P. Morgan as the financial advisor. Skadden Arps and Torys LLP will both be the legal advisors.
“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,” said Timothy Dattels, Chairman of BlackBerry’s Special Committee of the Board. “Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”
The high price tags of the Z10 and the Q10 were the primary reason for the lukewarm response
However, the company has specified that this process may still not result in any significant changes. “There can be no assurance that this exploration process will result in any transaction. The Company does not currently intend to disclose further developments with respect to this process, unless and until its Board of Directors approves a specific transaction or otherwise concludes the review of strategic alternatives.”
BlackBerry is currently offering three BB10 devices in the market, with the first launch being the Z10 earlier this year. The Z10, and the more traditional Q10 have received average response from the market, owing to the high price tags that both phones come with. The more affordable Q5 isn’t quite affordable enough to have the BlackBerry Boys lining up to upgrade their phones!