Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd has
signed a nondisclosure deal to examine the books of troubled
Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd, the Wall
Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed sources.
BlackBerry has already accepted a tentative $4.7 billion
go-private deal orchestrated by its largest shareholder, but is
also assessing other options including interest from its
founders. Here are important milestones in the history of the
company formerly known as Research In Motion:
February 1985 – Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin co-found
Research In Motion in Waterloo, Ontario, the Canadian university
city where Lazaridis studied.
1989 – RIM develops a network gateway called RIMGate, precursor
to its BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
1992 – Jim Balsillie joins RIM as co-CEO, mortgaging his house
and investing $250,000.
1994 – RIM launches a handheld point-of-sale card reader, which
verifies debit and credit transactions directly to a bank.
1995 – RIM builds its own radio modem for wireless email.
1997 – RIM lists on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising more
than $115 million.
1999 – RIM launches BlackBerry email service, first wireless
device to synch with corporate email systems. Lists on the
Nasdaq.
2002 – RIM adds voice calls to the BlackBerry.
2004 – RIM’s surpasses 1 million BlackBerry users.
2007 – Apple Inc launches first iPhone. RIM passes 10
million subscribers, briefly becomes most valuable company in
Canada. Google Inc’s open source Android platform is
unveiled. It launches in October 2008.
2008 – RIM launches BlackBerry Storm, its first touchscreen and
keyboard-less device. The screen uses a tactile feedback
technology known as haptics, allowing a user to click down to
select actions. The model bombs.
2010 – RIM buys QNX Software Systems for C$200 million. It will
later use its software for its BlackBerry 10 devices.
2011 – RIM launches PlayBook, which is panned for lacking core
BlackBerry functions such as email and organizer capability. It
later books a writedown on unsold PlayBook inventory. Company
slashes financial forecasts, the first of many revisions, which
it then misses. Says will slash more than 10 percent of its
workforce. Resists investor pressure for co-CEOs Lazaridis and
Balsillie to step down. Offers to manage rival devices including
Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Delays its QNX-based BlackBerry 10
phones until late 2012.
2012 – Lazaridis and Balsillie step down as co-chief executives
and chairmen. Thorsten Heins appointed CEO and Barbara Stymiest
named chair of the board. Heins promises overhaul, says RIM will
no longer issue financial forecasts. RIM hires bankers to assist
with strategic review, delays BlackBerry 10 again, until early
2013. Shares hit lowest level in nearly a decade.
Jan. 30, 2013 – Heins unveils BlackBerry 10 devices at glitzy
event in New York, with simultaneous gatherings in other cities
around the world, and company changes name to BlackBerry.
June 28, 2013 – Shares fall 25 percent after company reports
loss and warns of more pain, says BlackBerry 10 sales were
disappointing. Days earlier the company said it can now service
Apple and Android devices for enterprise customers.
Aug. 12, 2013 – BlackBerry says it is weighing options including
a sale. Fairfax Financial Holdings’ Prem Watsa steps down from
board to avoid conflict of interest, days after Reuters reported
that the company’s board was warming to the idea of going
private.
Sept. 3, 2013 – Microsoft Corp buys Nokia’s
phone business and licenses its patents for more than $7
billion.
Sept. 20, 2013 – BlackBerry warns of a steep loss and says it
will cut more than a third of its workforce as it abandons the
consumer market.
Sept. 23, 2013 – BlackBerry signs tentative $4.7 billion deal to
be acquired and taken private by a consortium led by its largest
investor, Watsa’s Fairfax Financial.
Oct. 10, 2013 – Co-founders Lazaridis and Fregin say in a filing
that they are considering a bid to buy the company.
