Earlier this month, it was revealed that BlackBerry co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin may be interested in trying to acquire the troubled handset manufacturer, with the pair going so far as to hire some advising firms to help review their options. Now it looks like they may be getting some help in their effort.
A new report from the Wall Street Journal claims that Lazaridis and Fregin are "near an agreement" with Cerberus Capital Management LP to make a joint bid for BlackBerry. However, the sources of the report caution that even if a group does form, they may ultimately decide not to make a bid for BlackBerry. It's also said that chip maker Qualcomm is in talks to join the group.
BlackBerry has already entered into an agreement to be acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for $4.7 billion. However, that agreement allowed BlackBerry to field other offers for itself until Nov. 4. The company has reportedly spoken with several other firms about a potential bid, including Google, LG, Samsung, Intel and Lenovo, but so far nothing concrete has surfaced.
A joint offer from Lazaridis, Fregin, Cerberus and Qualcomm would definitely be interesting, not only because the two BlackBerry co-founders would be returning to their company, but also because it would see Qualcomm getting a piece of the smartphone manufacturer. Good thing that we only have to wait until Monday to find out whether or not the group actually makes an offer.
UPDATE: Sources speaking to Reuters also claim that Lazaridis and Fregin are in talks with Cerberus and Qualcomm about a joint BlackBerry bid. It's also said that Fairfax Financial is running into issues gathering the funding for its $4.7 billion bid, as several banks are concerned that BlackBerry won't be able to recover from the situation that it's currently in.
