Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs & Takeovers Hotline – Friday, October 13, 2023

Article Excerpt

BLACKBERRY LIMITED, $4.73, symbol BB on Toronto, is a Waterloo-based provider of cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) software. The company was formerly known as Research and Motion and got its current name from its BlackBerry smartphone. In January 2022, the company stopped servicing its smartphones. On May 1, 2023, BlackBerry announced that its board of directors was initiating a strategic review of its various businesses to find possible ways to enhance shareholder value at the money-losing company. One of those possibilities was the separation of its two main operating businesses. The company announced on October 4, 2023, that it intended to separate its cybersecurity and IoT businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies. As part of the separation, it will pursue an initial public offering (IPO) for the IoT business, which includes its QNX automotive embedded software. QNX is found in more than 215 million vehicles worldwide. After the IPO, the public would likely hold less than 50% of the new issue—with…