RIM office in Waterloo, Ont.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Research In Motion Ltd. sputtered on Wednesday after Samsung Electronics Co. denied a report suggesting that the handset maker was interested in buying the Canadian-based BlackBerry maker – but the shares are showing some life: After falling sharply at the start of trading, they were making a modest comeback from the day's trough.
Is there still some life in the takeover rumours? In Toronto, RIM surged 5.3 per cent on Tuesday after a report on the BGR blog said that Samsung was keen to buy RIM, but not so keen on the price RIM was asking. On Wednesday, though, Bloomberg News reported that Samsung has "never" considered making an offer for RIM – according to the company's spokesperson, at least.
Rumours of an impending takeover offer have been swirling for some time, mostly due to RIM's sagging share price than any sound argument that RIM would make a good strategic fit with another technology company. Shares have fallen more than 90 per cent from their high in 2008 – first due to the collapse of global economic growth, then due to the company's sliding North American market share.
However, since mid-December, the shares have rebounded 34 per cent.
David Berman