NEW YORK: Apple could be interested in acquiring BlackBerry, sending shares in the Canadian phone maker soaring. It won’t come as a surprise to many to hear that BlackBerry is having a tough time in the smartphone market.
Recent reports show that the company’s market share across the globe is shrinking, and the firm failed even to get a mention in Good Technology’s enterprise mobile report this week which said that the iPhone now accounts for 72 percent of device activations.
A report on Yahoo Finance said that Apple is aware of this and could be plotting to pick up BlackBerry before it collapses in a bid to further tighten its grip on the enterprise market.
We’d advise taking this speculation with a pinch of salt, but it does kind of make sense.
Apple is looking to dominate the enterprise market, as is evident from its tie-in with IBM, and could be eyeing-up BlackBerry’s portfolio of 44,000 patents, many of which have kept the firm as a leader when it comes to enterprise software and security.
Buying BlackBerry could also see Apple making a play for public sector contracts, and some have speculated that the US government could be pushing Apple to acquire the struggling firm.
Sean Udall, CIO of Quantum Trading Strategies, told Benzinga: “The one way this deal might work is if the US government [and others] want Apple to buy them because they’re worried that BlackBerry, effectively, won’t be around in its current form.”
Apple and BlackBerry, typically, have yet to comment, and no further details about the rumoured deal have yet been made public.
However, it’s worth noting that Apple isn’t the first big-name technology firm to be linked to a potential BlackBerry buyout.
Online speculation earlier this year claimed that Samsung was plotting to acquire the company, rumours that sent BlackBerry stock soaring 30 percent.
Intel, Google and Lenovo have also previously been named as a potential buyers.
