TORONTO – The head of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday he has every intention of completing the acquisition of BlackBerry, despite doubts that the $4.7 billion deal for the troubled smartphone maker will go through.
BlackBerry announced earlier this week that Fairfax signed a letter of intent that “contemplates” buying BlackBerry for $9 a share. Fairfax, BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, is trying to attract other investors.
BlackBerry shares on Wednesday lost 6 percent, closing a dollar below Fairfax’s bid on fears the deal won’t happen.
There is no breakup fee should Fairfax walk away, but Fairfax Chief Executive Prem Watsa told The Associated Press his firm is not in the business of making an offer and then walking away or redoing the deal.
“We’ve got a track record of 28 years of completing what we’ve done. We’ve never re-negotiated,” Watsa said. “We thought long and hard before we offered $9 dollars a share and we’re not in the business of offering a number and at the last minute changing the figure. Over 28 years our reputation is stellar on that front. We just don’t do that.”
Watsa noted the deal is subject to six weeks of due diligence but stressed Fairfax won’t abandon it.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.