Lenovo Considering A Blackberry Buyout: Report

A fresh addition has been made to the Blackberry take-over rumor mill. A report from WSJ says that Chinese PC major, Lenovo, is considering the acquisition of embattled smartphone maker BlackBerry. The report also adds that Lenovo has signed a non-disclosure agreement so that it can sift through Blackberry's books and balance sheets.

Citing unnamed sources, WSJ's report said that the Chineese PC maker is considering an acquisition of the whole Waterloo, Ont.-based company. In March 2013, Lenovo boss Yang Yuanqing was quated by a French newspaper saying that his company was considering buying Blackberry to further expand the range of its mobile offerings. He told Les Echos that buying BlackBerry "could possibly make sense, but first I need to analyze the market and understand what exactly the importance of this company is."

Lenovo makes its own lines of cell phones, but the company has failed to reap success in markets outside of China. By acquiring Blackberry, Lenovo would have access to a global brand and more importantly, connections and agreements with carriers around the world.

Also, Blackberry would be a good fit for Lenovo since the Canadian phone maker's products and offerings are aimed at business persons and enterprises. Back in 2005, Lenovo acquired IBM, another business centric company and began selling its laptops and PCs under the Lenovo brand.

However, it is not clear whether Canadian and US regulators will allow the deal to pass since sensitive parts of both governments use Blackberry products and services. Currently, the Canadian phone maker has an offer from a consortium led by FairFax Financial.

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