Research In Motion
Reuters is reporting that Amazon.com
Amazon's interest apparently diminished shortly after it started, without a formal offer being made. There's no update on where Microsoft and Nokia stand on a joint acquisition of the beleaguered RIM.
Let me save you the speculation, suspense, and aggravation. A deal isn't happening. RIM will die alone, leaving behind a dozen cats and even more regrets of the ones that got away.
I'm not trying to be mean. RIM is too proud to settle for settling down. The Reuters' source claims the Canadian smartphone pioneer has been telling interested parties that it doesn't want to entertain an acquisition. RIM also isn't exploring economic joint ventures -- along the lines of what Microsoft squared away with Nokia earlier this year -- or entertaining the sale of individual components including its patent portfolio or handset business.
Now we find RIM trading at an eight-year low -- off by a whopping 78% this year alone as of last night's close -- and it's the one being choosy.
Wow.
Quite frankly, the rumored interest itself is surprising. Analysts see revenue and earnings falling this fiscal year, only to decline again in fiscal 2013. Why buy RIM now when it will only get cheaper down the line?
The bullish argument for RIM -- and it's no doubt what's clouding the company's judgment -- is that the stock has declined at a headier clip than its fundamentals. Obviously RIM isn't 78% less of a company than it was when the year began. It closed out its latest quarter with a record 75 million BlackBerry users!
Unfortunately, it's seeing things through BlackBerry goggles. Buying a smartphone platform -- at any price -- hasn't historically been a good decision. Hewlett-Packard
If companies are brave or stupid enough to consider buyout offers or single out prized assets, then who is RIM to be the greedy one?
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