Samsung thinks that acquiring less than 100 percent of BlackBerry, perhaps keeping part of it as a publicly traded entity with an independent board, could help secure easier CFIUS approval. But it doubts whether it can accomplish its strategic objectives with less than 100 percent ownership, the documents show.
In 2013, the Canadian government had strongly hinted to BlackBerry that any sale to China’s Lenovo Group would be rejected due to security concerns, sources told Reuters at the time.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office wouldn't comment on the report on Wednesday US time but sources familiar with the Canadian government's thinking said a Samsung buyout was unlikely to raise such concerns.
Ross Healy, a portfolio manager at MacNicol & Associates, which owns a small stake in Blackberry, said Samsung's reported offer undervalues the company.
“To get a hold of the BlackBerry network and all its secure features, that would be a real coup for Samsung, looking to differentiate themselves from Apple and from others," he said.
Blackberry's patent portfolio is composed of roughly 44,000 patents, worth more than US$1.43 billion in net book value as of August last year, although many analysts think they could be worth much more.
Edward Snyder, managing director of Charter Equity Research, said it made sense for Samsung to target BlackBerry's patents in its outgoing battle with Apple and others, and that it likely would need to bid for the whole company because BlackBerry management did not want to only sell specific assets.
"Samsung will have to buy the whole thing and then and shutter what they don't need,” he said.
BlackBerry launched its long-awaited Classic model on Wednesday US time, hoping to help win back market share and woo customers still using older devices with a keyboard. The phone resembles its once popular Bold and Curve handsets.
In the third quarter, revenue at Blackberry, which is increasingly focusing on providing services like secure corporate networks, fell to US$793 million from US$1.19 billion a year earlier, falling short of analysts' expectations of US$931.5 million.
Shares of Blackberry jumped as much as 30 percent on heavy volume in afternoon trading at US$29.71 per share in New York.
The offer price would imply an enterprise value of US$6 billion to US$7.5 billion for BlackBerry, assuming conversion of US$1.25 billion of convertible debt, according to the documents.
BlackBerry announced a high-profile security partnership with Samsung in November. The partnership will wed BlackBerry's security platform with the South Korean company's own security software for its Galaxy devices.
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