BlackBerry scraps plans for stake sale

BlackBerry scraps plans for stake saleCanadian mobile phone maker, BlackBerry has said that it has cancelled plans to sell the company to its largest shareholder.

The company also announced that its chief executive would step down as it adopts a new strategy to revive business. The company is aiming to raise $1 billion from institutions and is bringing in a new leader to revive business. BlackBerry said its chief executive, Thorsten Heins, will step down after the rescue deal is finalised. The new executive chairman, John Chen, will act as chief executive until a replacement is found.

Recently, the Canadian smartphone maker has warned that it is heading towards announcing a huge operating loss and might have to cut as many as 4,500 jobs. The company has been struggling to compete with rivals Apple’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Galaxy phones. The developments would force the company to look for investors for the company.

Canada based firm, Fairfax Financial has agreed to pay about $4.7 billion for smartphone maker, BlackBerry that was once a dominating force in the market. Fairfax Financial already owns 10 per cent of the company and will now expand its stake in the troubled firm. Fairfax Financial has reportedly joined a group of other buyers to acquire BlackBerry shares at $9 per unit and take the company private by removing it from the public listing on Nasdaq.