BlackBerry and Samsung both denied reports late January that the two companies were in discussions about a possible sale. The original story appeared on Reuters who’s sources “familiar with the matter” pegged the possible takeover price at $7.5 billion.
BlackBerry’s official statement on the matter was that it was “not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry.” On the other hand, Samsung reiterated that BlackBerry is one of its “important business-to-business strategic partners.” Even Industry Minister James Moore was informed by BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen that there is no pending acquisition.
It now seems that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) are conducting preliminary investigations to see if the story was fabricated to inflate the stock price. Apparently shares of BlackBerry rose as much as 30% when the report broke and reached a 52-week high at $12.63, but then ended the day up 4%.
The Wall Street Journal noted that this investigation by both regulators from the US and Canada regular of possible market manipulation “frequently don’t lead to formal accusations” as they are difficult to prove.
