Lenovo rumoured to be buying BlackBerry (again)

Lenovo is still in the process of finalising its deal with Google to purchase Motorola Mobility, but that doesn’t mean the world’s largest PC manufacturer isn’t content with just one big name smartphone manufacturer under its wing; new rumours have suggested it is preparing to purchase BlackBerry as well.

The struggling Canadian company is being targeted by Lenovo for acquisiton as early as this week, according to website Benzinga. Citing an unnamed source ‘familiar with the matter’, the site said the company would initially offer $15 per share for the buyout, ultimately rising to $18 per share to secure the deal.

The rumours boosted share prices for BlackBerry this week, a much needed increase following lukewarm reception to the company’s Passport smartphone earlier in the year. BlackBerry handsets used to be widely used by business professionals, but in recent years they have fallen out of favour as iPhones and Android smartphones became more popular.

This woudn’t be the first time Lenovo has attempted to purchase BlackBerry. The company held talks last year, but they came to nothing after security concerns were raised by both the Canadian and American governments. Under the Industry Canada Act in Canadian law, any foreign takeover of BlackBerry would need government approval.

To bypass this hurdle, some analysts believe a sale of just BlackBerry’s handset business, not its core network infrastructure, would get regulatory approval. Even so, it’s best to take this unsubstantiated claim with a liberal pinch of salt; Lenovo already has a succesful handset manufacturer in Motorola, so it wouldn’t stand to gain much by bringing BlackBerry into the fold too.

Neither company is willing to comment on the rumours, but with Benzinga suggesting the deal could be announced publicly before the end of the week, we won’t have long to wait to hear if it’s true.