If there's one thing that Research In Motion
The rumor mill is buzzing today on speculation that activist investor and corporate raider Carl Icahn has taken a stake in the beleaguered BlackBerry maker. This is hearsay at its purest, since there is no official word from Icahn or RIM to either effect. Icahn Capital LP's most recent 13F filing shows no current position in RIM, so any stake would be a new addition to his portfolio.
The Canada-based company needs a wake-up call, and Icahn knows how to turn companies around. RIM needs some lessons in good corporate governance, especially after blowing aside shareholders' and employees' calls to action. Research In Motion has not been delivering on PlayBook sales; the only thing that the company is delivering is dismal earnings.
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Shareholders are loving the idea of Icahn stepping in, sending Research In Motion shares up by as much as 7% as of this writing. It's worth noting that Icahn already has his hands in the mobile sector with a large stake in Motorola Mobility
If any outsider is going to step in and engineer a turnaround for RIM, I can't think of a better candidate than Carl Icahn. If the company hopes to halt its slow-motion train wreck, it needs to act soon. In the meantime, we'll have to wait until Icahn Capital LP's next quarterly holdings disclosure to see whether this rumor has any legs.
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