by Muyiwa Matuluko

Reuters reported yesterday that smartphone giant Samsung recently approached BlackBerry for a takeover bid worth $7.5 billion. The primary aim of the deal is to get full access to BlackBerry’s valuable patent portfolio.

According to sources, executives from the two companies met privately last week to discuss a potential transaction where Samsung “proposed an initial price range of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, which represents a premium of 38 percent to 60 percent over BlackBerry’s current trading price”.

The news of the meeting helped soar BlackBerry’s stock price as high up as 30% yesterday. However, in a statement released shortly afterwards, BlackBerry denied these claims:

BlackBerry Limited is aware of certain press reports published today with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry. BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry. BlackBerry’s policy is not to comment on rumours or speculation, and accordingly it does not intend to comment further.

Muyiwa