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Blackberry: Western gov'ts won't permit China buyout
Blackberry's market share has slipped to less than 1 percent, according to third quarter data released by Strategy Analytics. [File photo]
Western countries won't allow Blackberry to be taken over by a Chinese company, said Blackberry Chief Executive Officer John Chen in an interview with Bloomberg taped on July 23.
"We probably are unable to do that," Chen said, when asked whether he would accept a bid from a Chinese company, in the interview that will air on tonight on Bloomberg TV.
There have been rumors since last year that Blackberry is going to bought by China's Lenovo Group, with the latest report coming out on Oct. 20. The U.S.-based business website Benzinga quoted sources as saying that Lenovo could propose a US$9.3-billion bid for Blackberry. Shares in the Canadian-based phone maker surged 8.5 percent on the day of the report.
"One of our biggest installation bases is government in the so-called Five Eyes countries where governments share intelligence. I think there would be a lot of regulatory issues and concerns," explained Chen.
The Five Eyes refers to an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
Blackberry has been a top smartphone choice for corporation executives and government officials because of its reputation for security. U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron are all users of Blackberry phones.
However, over the past few years, Blackberry's market share has witnessed a continuing drop as the market has been divided up by Android and iOS. According to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, Blackberry only held a 0.7-percent market share in the third quarter of 2014.
During the APEC CEO Summit in November, Chen met with Chinese phone makers including Lenovo and Xiaomi. Chen expressed interest in building partnerships with Chinese companies and expand Blackberry's share in the mainland market.
Western countries won't allow Blackberry to be taken over by a Chinese company, said Blackberry Chief Executive Officer John Chen in an interview with Bloomberg taped on July 23.
"We probably are unable to do that," Chen said, when asked whether he would accept a bid from a Chinese company, in the interview that will air on tonight on Bloomberg TV.
There have been rumors since last year that Blackberry is going to bought by China's Lenovo Group, with the latest report coming out on Oct. 20. The U.S.-based business website Benzinga quoted sources as saying that Lenovo could propose a US$9.3-billion bid for Blackberry. Shares in the Canadian-based phone maker surged 8.5 percent on the day of the report.
"One of our biggest installation bases is government in the so-called Five Eyes countries where governments share intelligence. I think there would be a lot of regulatory issues and concerns," explained Chen.
The Five Eyes refers to an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
Blackberry has been a top smartphone choice for corporation executives and government officials because of its reputation for security. U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron are all users of Blackberry phones.
However, over the past few years, Blackberry's market share has witnessed a continuing drop as the market has been divided up by Android and iOS. According to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, Blackberry only held a 0.7-percent market share in the third quarter of 2014.
During the APEC CEO Summit in November, Chen met with Chinese phone makers including Lenovo and Xiaomi. Chen expressed interest in building partnerships with Chinese companies and expand Blackberry's share in the mainland market.
