The IT Nerd

I’ve been wondering all day why nobody other than the Fairfax put in a bid for BlackBerry. Well, The Globe And Mail is reporting that someone did:

Beijing-based computer manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd. actively considered a bid for BlackBerry Ltd., but the Canadian government told the smartphone company it would not accept a Chinese takeover because of national security concerns, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Ottawa made it clear in high-level discussions with BlackBerry that it would not approve a Chinese company buying a company deeply tied into Canada’s telecom infrastructure, sources said. The government made its position known over the last one to two months. Because Ottawa made it clear such a transaction would not fly, it never formally received a proposal from BlackBerry that envisioned Lenovo acquiring a stake, sources said.

I’m not surprised given who the clients of BlackBerry are. There was no chance that Lenovo would get anywhere them. But it is sad as that likely would have been BlackBerry’s best chance at survival. Too bad.

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