BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen looks on during the official launch of the Passport smartphone in Toronto, September 24, 2014.AARON HARRIS/Reuters
BlackBerry Ltd. stock crashed back to earth Thursday, following denials by the company and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. of a Reuters story that said the two were in talks about a takeover.
BlackBerry shares closed at $10.11 (U.S.) on the Nasdaq, down 20 per cent, after a late-Wednesday spike that saw the stock shoot up by 30 per cent in the final minutes of trading following publication of the report.
Trading was intense – more than 72 million shares traded hands Wednesday on the Nasdaq, the busiest day for the stock since last June 19, while another 10.9 million shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
After markets closed Wednesday, BlackBerry said it was "not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry." Samsung also dismissed the story, saying in a statement that "media reports of the acquisition are groundless." The denials prompted the stock to swoon in after-hours trading.
On Thursday, the stock closed in the range where it has traded in recent weeks.
Sources close to the Waterloo, Ont. company told The Globe and Mail Wednesday that BlackBerry has shunned a handful of potential buyers in recent months as its board of directors and largest investor, Fairfax Financial Holdings, continue to support a turnaround strategy launched by chief executive John Chen.
There is no sales process in place and the fallen smartphone maker will stick with a multiyear plan that includes introducing new products and services aimed at corporate and government users, the sources said.
Sean Silcoff