Facebook is reportedly the latest tech company to meet with BlackBerry in an attempt to acquire the smartphone maker.
BlackBerry is going through a tough time but it's certainly not sitting around and wallowing in pity. The company is conducting business as usual by launching a new smartphone with Verizon and meeting with companies that are showing an interest in buying the smartphone maker.
The Canadian smartphone maker just announced its latest handset after previously announcing it was exiting the consumer smartphone market since it accepted a $4.7billion deal with Fairfax Financial Holdings. The company is launching the new 5-inch BlackBerry Z30 smartphone with Verizon in November and is rumored to be in talks with other carriers to sell the new flagship. For a company exiting the consumer market, it apparently has no problem selling new smartphones to consumers.
Things haven't been going smoothly with BlackBerry's future owner. In fact, BlackBerry has already opened itself up to meet with companies while Fairfax Financial works out its issues. It has reportedly met with some powerful players. Google, Intel and Lenovo have been reported to show interest in acquiring BlackBerry. Now it seems that that BlackBerry has moved on to checking out the social scene with meetings with Facebook for a potential a buyout.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that executives from BlackBerry and Facebook met last week to discuss Facebook acquiring the smartphone maker. Some see the pair as a strange possibility, but there are a few reasons why Facebook may want to buy BlackBerry.
Facebook failed with the "Facebook smartphone," the HTC First it announced earlier this year. The handset was offered by AT&T and quickly became available for free with a new 2-year contract. With this purported deal, Facebook would not only gain control of BlackBerry's smartphones, it would more importantly gain a very impressive operating system. Facebook has actively been updating its Android-based Facebook Home launcher, which essentially turns an existing Android smartphone into a "Facebook phone."
The publication is reporting that it's unclear whether Facebook plans on placing a bid to acquire BlackBerry. If the company does want to get in the game, it needs to do so before Nov. 4, which is the reported deadline for meeting with potential owners.
We'll keep you updated on whether Facebook is in the running for BlackBerry or if an even more more unlikely pairing comes out of this.
