Veritas Capital, a New York based private equity firm, made an offer to acquire Canadian technology company BlackBerry (NYSE:BB), according to separate reports from Reuters and Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
Veritas is interested in acquiring all of the company, and talks are said to be in the early stages. Other details were not provided.
Earlier this year, BlackBerry announced a process to consider various strategic alternatives to drive enhanced shareholder value, including the possible separation of one or more its businesses.
In a press release in May, John Chen, BlackBerry’s Executive Chairman and CEO said, “Although we expect achievement of this plan to deliver significant shareholder benefits, we do not believe that this is fully reflected in the market's current valuation of the Company. Accordingly, the Board and management believe it is an appropriate time to initiate a comprehensive review of the Company's portfolio.”
Veritas typically invests in companies that provide technology or technology-enabled solutions to government and commercial customers, and BlackBerry was likely seen as a good match for its expertise.
Veritas could still change its mind, and other suitors might still be interested in acquiring all or part of BlackBerry.