Goldman Sachs
Lazaridis, the inventor of the BlackBerry and former co-CEO of the company, said in October that he hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help him explore a deal with Fregin, who used to run the company’s operations. The two men together own about 8 percent of BlackBerry’s shares.
Lenovo Group Ltd., based in Beijing, has expressed interest in BlackBerry too — though a Chinese bid would face scrutiny from Canadian and U.S. regulators. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month that BlackBerry should be wary of any takeover offer that raises national-security concerns.
Without a concrete bid in the offing, investors are now left with a less attractive future, Moorman said.
“This is a little disturbing given all the talk of interested bidders,” he said. “I’ve always thought going private would be the right step for them.”
BlackBerry kicked off the bidding process in August when it said it would consider selling the company as part of a strategic review. At the time, Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa left the smartphone maker’s board so he could pursue a deal. He will now be rejoining BlackBerry as lead director.