BlackBerry abandons sale process, CEO out

BlackBerry abandoned its sale process on Monday, and announced it will replace its chief executive.

Fairfax Financial, BlackBerry's largest shareholder with a 10 percent stake, said it won't buy the struggling smartphone company and take it private but said that Fairfax and other investors will inject $1 billion as part of a revised investment proposal.

BlackBerry said CEO Thorsten Heins is stepping down. Heins took over in early 2012 after the company lost billions in market value, but he failed to turn the company around with BlackBerry's new devices this year.

Former Sybase chief executive John Chen has been appointed chair of BlackBerry's board of directors and will serve as interim CEO. Chen's emphasis on software in an interview with The Associated Press could mean the company might ultimately get out of selling smartphones.

Chen said he'll be looking for a CEO with a strong software and services background. He noted that BlackBerry Messenger, the popular messaging application, has been downloaded by over 20 million users since it became available on Google's Android and Apple's IOS platforms.  


AP