Private equity firm Veritas Capital has made an offer to acquire Canadian software company BlackBerry (BB.TO), according to a person familiar with the matter. The details of the offer are currently unknown, and both Veritas and BlackBerry have not responded to requests for comment from RushHourDaily.
Following the news of the offer, the U.S-listed shares of BlackBerry saw a rise of approximately 17%.
In May, BlackBerry announced its intention to review strategic alternatives, which could potentially involve the separation of its various businesses.
Founded in 1984, BlackBerry is known for its software for cars and cybersecurity. It gained popularity in the early 2000s for its business smartphones. However, the company discontinued its smartphones business last year and has been actively trying to sell its legacy patents related to mobile devices.
In line with this, BlackBerry had previously announced the sale of its mobile device patents to Malikie Innovations Limited for up to $900 million. This decision came after a previous deal with Catapult IP Innovations Inc fell through due to delays in closing.
The article was reported by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Greg Roumeliotis, with editing by Shweta Agarwal. The reporting adheres to the Thomson RushHourDaily Trust Principles.
