Distressed asset investor circles BlackBerry ahead of potential rival bid

Cerberus Capital Management, an investment firm specialising in distressed assets, is examining the possibility of making a rival bid for embattled smartphone maker BlackBerry, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that at least one other distressed asset investment firm is evaluating whether to make a bid for the company.

For its part, BlackBerry is declining to comment on any rival takeover bids.

“We do not intend to disclose further developments with respect to the process until we approve a specific transaction or otherwise conclude the review of strategic alternatives,” a spokesperson said.

News of the rival bid comes after a consortium led by Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings launched a $US4.7 billion takeover bid for the company late last month.

Late last week, the smartphone maker reported figures showing a massive 45% year-on-year and 49% quarter-on-quarter loss in revenues, and nearly $US1 billion in losses with around 4500 jobs to cut.

Meanwhile, in an increasingly rare piece of good news for the company, NATO has granted the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) platform and Blackberry 10 smartphones approval for restricted classified communications.

The company has also won a major new BES10 contract with the National Police of Colombia.