In an interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Lenovo Group Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming said that the company is currently accessing potential acquisition targets and strategic alliances, one of which is struggling BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM).
"We are looking at all opportunities -- RIM and many others," Wong revealed. "We’ll have no hesitation if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders."
News of a possible deal arrives just days before RIM officially launches its new BlackBerry 10 platform on January 30, 2013. This will reportedly be a make-it-or-break-it launch for the company as it struggles to regain smartphone market share from Google, Samsung and Apple.
The first two BlackBerry 10 phones will be introduced next week: the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry X10, the latter of which will feature a physical QWERTRY keyboard. Four additional BlackBerry 10 devices are expected to launch sometime in the first half of 2013.
RIM began to review its strategic options last year and seemingly became a takeover target for companies wanting the BlackBerry brand and services. Potential buyer Lenovo is just one of many companies looking to fatten their mobile profile as PC sales decline due to consumers flocking to smartphones and tablets as their central computing platform.
Currently Lenovo doesn't have a strong smartphone portfolio in North America, making RIM an ideal acquisition candidate. But an acquisition would require approval from both U.S. and Canadian regulators because of the size of the transaction and because RIM operates secure mobile networks for government agencies, Bloomberg said on Thursday.
During the interview, Wong noted that RIM's stock price recently jumped back up into the double digits. Shares have almost tripled since September 2012, fueled by BlackBerry 10 and what the strategic review may produce. As of Thursday afternoon, RIM had climbed as much as 5.6-percent to $18.32, and was up 2.7-percent at $17.81 just after noon in New York.