SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday it has formed a special board committee to evaluate its “strategic options†that could include a sale of the company, following reports last week that the smartphone maker was considering a privatization deal.
The news sent BlackBerry’s (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TOR:CA:BB) shares up 10.3% to $10.76 by early afternoon on Monday. The stock jumped 5.7% on Friday after Reuters reported the privatization discussions.
The stock got an afternoon boost following an upgrade by Evercore Partners. Analyst Mark McKechnie said he now considers the stock to be aâ€special situation given the possibility of a deal or break-up.
In a statement issued before the opening bell, BlackBerry said its directors have formed a special committee to explore strategic alternatives, including possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the company or other possible transactions, “to enhance value and increase scale to accelerate BlackBerry 10 deployment.†BlackBerry 10 is the most recent operating system trotted out by the Waterloo, Ontario firm.
