New report claims that more companies want BlackBerry

May 22, 2015 07:00 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is reportedly interested in buying BlackBerry, and the company has already hired investment companies to determine the value of the Canadian phone manufacturer, but a new report now claims that the Redmond-based tech giant is not the only one pursuing an acquisition.

Digitimes claims that Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Huawei are also looking at BlackBerry for a potential takeover, but for the moment, Microsoft is the only company that has actually started to look into a possible deal.

For the moment, Microsoft is believed to have the biggest chances to buy BlackBerry, but the companies that are currently said to be interested in a deal have different purposes if the acquisition goes through.

Microsoft is rumored to have set its sights on BlackBerry’s patents, which would help the company improve its lineup of features in the business industry for its very own Windows 10 Mobile platform. BlackBerry already has the know-how for this particular industry sector, and Microsoft is specifically targeting it with the upcoming operating system that will debut later this year.

On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers plan to buy BlackBerry in order to increase their presence in Europe and the United States, but once again, the enterprise market in both regions would be the main targeted if such a deal is agreed.

Microsoft’s big advantage

Microsoft is said to be the top company pursuing a BlackBerry acquisition not only because it has the money to do it but also because US and EU regulators are unlikely to allow BlackBerry’s takeover by a Chinese company, the report adds.

The reason is as simple as it could be: both the United States and Europe are afraid that a possible acquisition of BlackBerry by Chinese companies would be a threat to the national security, as the spying scandal between the US and China continues these days.

Microsoft is yet to confirm any potential talks with BlackBerry, but the company is believed to be preparing a $7 billion (€6.3 billion) offer for the first round of negotiations.

We have once again reached out to Microsoft for a comment and will update the article, should we receive any answer.