Blackberry to divest most of its Canadian properties

The latest page in Blackberry’s business woes comes in the form of a property announcement, with the company revealing plans to divest the majority of its real estate located in … Continue reading

Stock Up: SanDisk Flash Memory is Up to 60% Off on Amazon Today

Stock Up: SanDisk Flash Memory is Up to 60% Off on Amazon Today

Stop starving your camera with that old 1 GB off-brand SD card that you’ve had since the aughts. There’s a memory sale on Amazon and it’s calling your name. Today only, go there now.

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BlackBerry enters agreement for $4.7 billion sale of company to consortium led by Fairfax Financial

BlackBerry

For the second time in as many trading days, shares of BlackBerry were halted in advance of some big news from the company. Today’s news is no less big. BlackBerry has just announced that it’s signed a letter of intent agreement for a sale of the company valued at $4.7 billion to a consortium led by Fairfax Financial (the company’s largest shareholder). Pending due diligence that’s expected to be completed by November 4th, the deal would see BlackBerry go private, with shareholders each receiving $9 per share in cash.

In a statement, Fairfax Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said, “we believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees,” adding, “we can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world.”

While BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has yet to offer any public comment on the news, the chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors, Barbara Stymiest, drew attention to that due diligence period in her statement, saying that “the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium.” As part of the agreement, BlackBerry would have to pay a termination fee if it accepted another offer. You can find the official announcement of the deal after the break.

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Source: MarketWatch

WSJ: BlackBerry sale likely to be wrapped up by November

WSJ BlackBerry sale likely to be wrapped up by November

Details about an eventual sale of BlackBerry are slowly but surely starting to pick up steam. Following a confirmation from the Waterloo-based company about it being open to seeking “strategic alternatives,The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that members of the board are “aiming to run a fast auction process” which could be finalized as early as November of this year. Sourcing the well-informed people familiar with the matter, the publication goes on to say that BlackBerry has narrowed its list of potential buyers, with the sales process “expected to begin soon.” We’ll see how long it takes for Thorsten Heins and Co. to find someone interested in the troubled brand, but something tells us it won’t be much longer before this story reaches its climax.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 is now up for sale on AT&T’s website and in stores.

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 is now up for sale on AT&T’s website and in stores. Phones are available in yellow, black and white, priced from $300 with a two-year contract. [Cnet]

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Turns out Hulu isn’t getting sold after all.

Turns out Hulu isn’t getting sold after all. After a bunch of talk, 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, and Disney are instead putting in another $750 million and staying the Hulu-course. Maybe next time DirecTV.

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Steam Summer 2013 Sale Officially Kicks Off

Steam’s summer sale has officially kicked off and will continue through July 22.

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Steam’s Summer Getaway Sale underway: Hide your wallets

It’s no secret that Valve’s Steam digital gaming service holds gigantic sales throughout the year and discounts even the biggest games by 50% or more. This time around, we’re seeing probably the biggest sale of the year so far, which is Steam’s Summer Getaway Sale that is lasting 11 days throughout this month, with each day having its own set of discounted titles.

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Headlining today’s sales is BioShock Infinite at 50% off for only $29.99. This specific deal will only last 24 hours, so the clock is ticking. You should be aware of four different types of Steam deals throughout this next week and a half or so. There are broad, store-wide discounts that older games receive; there are daily deals which last 24 hours; there are flash deals which only last a couple hours; and then there are community deals which are voted on by Steam users.

Obviously, the more broad store-wide deals usually aren’t that great of a deal, and usually deal with games that aren’t very popular. However, it’s the daily deals and flash deals that you’ll want to keep your eyes on. These deals only last a short amount of time, and usually consist of popular games that have deep discounts. Blink once and you’ll miss them.

However, if you’re like me and end up buying all of these cheap games but never play them because you have more important things to do, then we suggest hiding your wallets and implementing some self-control. It’s a hard thing to do when you can get Portal 2 for just a few dollars, but once you buy that first cheap game, it’s like a vicious cycle.

Of course, we’re not therapists and we’re not trying to advise you to be careful out in the crazy world of Steam sales — go crazy for all we care. Just be sure you’ll actually play them when you get them. Don’t end up like us, with a huge list of games that we’ve never played that we’ll never be able to sell again.


Steam’s Summer Getaway Sale underway: Hide your wallets is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Hulu bids are in, if it sells then the next owner’s identity may hinge on video rights

Take two of the sale of Hulu is approaching its inevitable end, as multiple sources report the final bids have come in. Currently the site is owned by Disney, Fox and Comcast, while reported interested buyers include DirecTV, Chernin Group / AT&T and Guggenheim Digital Media. Of the potential buyers, The Hollywood Reporter reports Guggenheim would be the one most likely to retain the site’s “entreprenurial spirit,” while DirecTV may want to use it both as a part of its satellite package and as a standalone business. Finally the Chernin Group is reportedly backed by AT&T, which may have goals similar to those of DirecTV.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the site’s current owners are considering how potential buyers will want to license content going forward as part of the bids, with potential restrictions on their top rated shows, or longer windows before content is available on Hulu. We’ll have to wait and find out who had the best pitch before we move on to the next step — deciding if whatever Hulu becomes under new ownership is still worth visiting.

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Source: Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter

Sony Launching Summer Blast Sale Tomorrow For PS3, PS Vita Games

Sony is launching its Summer Blast sale for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita games starting tomorrow.

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