In its continuing effort to salvage what is left of their business, Blackberry has taken itself off of the market, and will instead be getting a $1 billion infusion from a small group of investors, one of which is former prospective buyer Fairfax Capital.
In concert with the investment, which the company says could increase to a maximum of $1.25 billion, CEO Thorsten Heins will resign both his seat on the board of directors and his executive post. The change of plans was first reported by The Globe and Mail and later confirmed by BlackBerry.
John S. Chen will be serving as executive chairman and interim CEO of the flailing company. Chin is a veteran of the tech industry, leading data management firm Sybase from 1998 until it was sold to SAP in 2010.
The group’s investment in BlackBerry will be in the form of convertible notes, which can be redeemed for shares of the company after a set time. The agreement is for seven years, with a strike price of $10 per share.
Rumors that Fairfax’s proposed $4.7 billion buyout would fail have been circulating almost since the day it was announced. Recently, BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis and former Apple CEO John Sculley have been mentioned as potential alternative bidders.
