BlackBerry has agreed to sell itself for US$4.7 billion to a group led by largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial.
BlackBerry said Monday that a letter of intent has been signed and its shareholders will receive US$9 in cash for each share.
Fairfax is not linked to the media company of the same name. Its primary business is insurance.
This comes after BlackBerry slashed its workforce nearly in half after its share of the global market fell from 20 percent in 2009, to just 1.5 percent.
Fairfax head Prem Watsa is a former board member who owns 10 percent of BlackBerry. Watsa stepped down when BlackBerry announced it was considering a sale last month. The billionaire is one of Canada's best-known value investors. .
Trading of the company's stock was halted ahead of the news. BlackBerry shares plunged after the company announced Friday a loss of nearly $1 billion and layoffs of 4,500 workers.
The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, was once the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before Apple's iPhone debuted in 2007.
3 News business editor Michael Wilson takes a look at the deal – watch the video in the player above.
AP / 3 News
source: newshub archive
