IBM Interested in RIM’s Over Enterprise-Services Unit
RIM’s enterprise-services unit has attracted the interest of IBM, according to two people familiar with the situation.
IBM made an informal approach about possibly acquiring the division, which operates a network of secure servers used to support its BlackBerry devices, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.
No party has shown interest in buying all of RIM or the division that makes its phones, and the Canadian company is inclined to wait for the rollout of BlackBerry 10 phones next year before making any decisions on a sale, the person said. No talks are currently under way, according to the person.
RIM Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins, who took charge in January, is trying to turn the company around after customers defected to Apple Inc. and Google Inc.’s Android, triggering losses and declining sales. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in May that it had hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and RBC Capital Markets to study strategic options. Heins has said he would prefer to find a partner or license RIM’s operating system, rather than pursuing a sale.
James Sciales, a spokesman for Armonk, New York-based IBM, said the company doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation, as did Nick Manning, a spokesman for RIM.
