BlackBerry spikes on Lenovo takeout rumour

Shares of BlackBerry are up today after an unconfirmed report from Benzinga.com suggested that Chinese hardware player Lenovo would make a bid for the Canadian device maker.

“A source familiar with the matter, has told Benzinga that China’s Lenovo Group Limited could make an offer to acquire Canadian mobile communications company, BlackBerry Ltd as early as this week,” reported the site.

The report says an offer of $15 could come later this week, but that a second offer near $18 would likely be required to get the deal done.

The timing of the rumour is curious as BlackBerry is generally regarded to be righting its ship under the guidance of new CEO John Chen. In July, the BlackBerry boss told Bloomberg today he has no irons in the fire.

“I don’t have any offers on my desk,” Chen told reporters Emily Chang and Olga Kharif. “If people would like to talk, I mean, talk is not an offer.”

Founded in 1984, the publicly traded Lenovo recently posted fiscal 2014 revenue of (US) $38.7-billion. The company, which entered the smartphone business in 2012 and is now China’s largest vendor of the devices, and is the world’s largest PC vendor.

A BlackBerry spokesperson declined comment on the rumour to Benzinga. At press time, shares of BlackBerry on the TSX were up 7.6% to $11.51.