Smartphone maker BlackBerry has appointed JP Morgan Securities as its financial advisor for selling the business or forming a joint venture, says news reports.
The company?s board has formed a special committee to explore strategic alternatives to enhance value and increase scale in order to accelerate the deployment of BlackBerry. These alternatives could include joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, selling the company, etc.
The special committee comprises of board members Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg, and will be chaired by Timothy Dattels. Prem Watsa, chairman and chief executive officer, Fairfax Financial, the majority shared holder in BlackBerry, will resign due to potential conflicts that may arise during the process.
The move comes at a time when the handset manufacturer is struggling with its operations. In the first quarter of 2013, BlackBerry reported a net loss of $84 million and its revenue increased by 9 per cent to reach $3.1 billion in the first quarter ended June 1, 2013. It shipped 6.8 million smartphones in the quarter under review.
