“It is not true”: Samsung denies report of BlackBerry takeover

No, Samsung is not going to buy over BlackBerry, reports Mobile World Live.

The South Korean electronics giant Samsung has denied a Reuters report that it is in takeover talks with smartphone maker BlackBerry in a deal estimated at $7.5 billion.

“It is not true,” a Samsung representative told Korean news agencies.

BlackBerry also denied the report, saying on its website it “has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer”.

Reuters yesterday reported that executives from the two firms held discussions on a potential deal last week and that Samsung made an offer to buy BlackBerry for $13.35-15.49 per share.

The news boosted BlackBerry’s shares nearly 30% (up US$2.89) Wednesday to close at US$12.60 but fell 14% in after-hours trading after it denied the report.

So where does that put BlackBerry?

CEO, John Chen says the company is “no longer in financial trouble” a year after he took the helm. But Chen acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to do in a company that was once the leader in mobile communications.