RIM (RIMM) Could Split-Off Key Unit or Sell Stake in Effort to Regain Balance
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Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) shares are looking weak in early trade Monday amid reports the company could break apart portions of its company as it looks to shore up operations.
According to Bloomberg, citing The Sunday Times, RIM might look to unload its handset-manufacturing unit or possibly sell a stake in the entire company. Another option would be a split it off into a separately-traded public company.
The most ideal candidate cited in a stake acquisition is Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Korea's Samsung may have been considered a potential suitor in the past, though the company quieted that rumor just days after it surfaced.
Other companies pegged for a potential purchase include Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN).
RIM is finally putting initiatives in place following several straight quarters of market share losses to Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and devices running Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android OS. The drop in market share has caused RIM stock to fall from highs above $140 in 2008 to under $10 as of last Friday's close.
Whether or not selling the handset business is RIM's best option is up for debate. Many customers still enjoy physical buttons on the RIM devices. It's just the BlackBerry operating system which is the biggest complaint. There's also the lack of ecosystem. Apple has several gadgets it connects via cloud interface and Google is working on doing the same. The need for ecosystem and devices is even causing Microsoft to step its game up, with the debut of its first PC (a tablet) last week as well as the long-awaited update for its Windows Phone OS ahead of Windows 8 being released later in 2012. Microsoft is more likely to want intellectual property (IP) from RIM.
RIM shares are up nearly 3 percent at last check.
According to Bloomberg, citing The Sunday Times, RIM might look to unload its handset-manufacturing unit or possibly sell a stake in the entire company. Another option would be a split it off into a separately-traded public company.
The most ideal candidate cited in a stake acquisition is Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Korea's Samsung may have been considered a potential suitor in the past, though the company quieted that rumor just days after it surfaced.
Other companies pegged for a potential purchase include Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN).
RIM is finally putting initiatives in place following several straight quarters of market share losses to Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and devices running Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android OS. The drop in market share has caused RIM stock to fall from highs above $140 in 2008 to under $10 as of last Friday's close.
Whether or not selling the handset business is RIM's best option is up for debate. Many customers still enjoy physical buttons on the RIM devices. It's just the BlackBerry operating system which is the biggest complaint. There's also the lack of ecosystem. Apple has several gadgets it connects via cloud interface and Google is working on doing the same. The need for ecosystem and devices is even causing Microsoft to step its game up, with the debut of its first PC (a tablet) last week as well as the long-awaited update for its Windows Phone OS ahead of Windows 8 being released later in 2012. Microsoft is more likely to want intellectual property (IP) from RIM.
RIM shares are up nearly 3 percent at last check.
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