黑莓（BlackBerry）本周一发表声明称，已接受Fairfax Financial公司提出的47亿美元收购要约。后者是一家位于加拿大多伦多的保险公司，目前持有黑莓约10%股票。

    收购价合计每股9美元，虽然比黑莓周一的开盘价略高出8.95%，但仍比一周前的股价低了不少（黑莓当时股价为10.41美元）。本月，黑莓股票的平均交易价格为每股10.59美元。

    Fairfax公司表示将牵头其它投资者参与收购，但具体名单目前仍不得而知。据悉，美林银行（BofA Merrill Lynch）和蒙特利尔银行资本市场（BMO

    目前交易仍处于意向阶段，意味着最终结果还要取决于尽职调查。而就在上周，黑莓警告称其季度亏损或高达10亿美元（这个数字是分析师预期的3倍）；另外，这家公司还表示计划裁员4,500人，同时将精简手机产品。消息一出，市场一片哗然。如果Fairfax发现形势进一步恶化，它还可以选择退出。

    如果黑莓在签订最终协议前成功找到了买家愿意开出更高的卖价格，它将需要赔偿Fairfax大约1.55亿美元的解约费。如果黑莓在协议正式签订后反悔，这笔费用将上升至2.57亿美元。黑莓支付解约费还有一个前提条件，那就是Fairfax向黑莓开出的收购价不低于每股9美元。与黑莓不同的是，Fairfax可以随时退出，但却不用向黑莓支付任何赔偿。

    Fairfax董事长兼首席执行官普雷姆•瓦特萨（曾担任过黑莓董事会成员）随后发表了一份事先拟定的声明：“我们相信，这笔交易将为黑莓及其客户、运营商以及公司员工翻开激动人心的全新私有化篇章。我们能立即为股东带来价值，同时还会继续执行一家私营企业的长期战略，即致力于为全球黑莓客户提供最优秀最安全的企业解决方案。”

    看来Fairfax似乎信心十足，不过，它之前从来没有进行过如此大额的交易。根据调研公司CapitalIQ的数据，Fairfax此前最大的并购交易交易额尚不足20亿美元——而且在科技领域实力单薄。

    黑莓目前负债为零，这或许是吸引Fairfax的原因。还有可能是同为加拿大企业的缘故。但无论如何，我们都很难想像一家（大部分资产是零售商店和酒店的）保险公司已经制定好计划来拯救一家穷途末路、已被无数私募资本和科技行业战略收购者抛弃的智能手机公司。

    黑莓股票在消息公布前已提前停牌，预计将于美国东部时间下午2点恢复交易。黑莓股票最高成交记录为2008年6月的144.56美元。

    译者：项航  

    BlackBerry (BBRY) today announced that it has agreed to be acquired for $4.7 billion by Fairfax Financial, a Toronto-listed insurance company that currently holds around 10% of the company's stock.

    The $9 per share deal represents an 8.95% premium over where BlackBerry opened trading this morning, albeit well below where it was trading just one week ago (when it opened at $10.41 per share). For the month, BlackBerry's average trading price had been $10.59 per share.

    Fairfax is said to be leading an investor consortium, although no identities of other equity investors were disclosed. BofA Merrill Lynch (BAC) and BMO Capital Markets (BMO) would arrange the debt financing, although neither has made firm commitments yet.

    It also is important to realize that this is a letter of intent agreement, which means that it is subject to due diligence. Just last week, BlackBerry stunned the market by warning of a $1 billion quarterly loss (3x analyst expectations), plans to lay off 4,500 employees and a reduction in future product offerings. If Fairfax finds even worse news on the horizon, it could still pull out.

    If BlackBerry manages to find a superior offer before a definitive agreement is signed with Fairfax, then the mobile device maker would be required to pay a termination fee of around $155 million. It would rise to $257 million were there to be such an agreement in place. Both termination fees require that Fairfax has not lowered its offer below $9 per share. Conversely, Fairfax does not have to pay BlackBerry anything if it pulls out of the process.

    Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax (and also a former BlackBerry board director), said the following in a prepared statement: "We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees. 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."

    That's a whole lot of confidence, given that Fairfax hasn't ever done a deal like this before. According to the CapitalIQ database, the company's largest M&A transactions have all been for less than $2 billion -- with no control stakes in the technology sector.

    Perhaps Fairfax was attracted to the BlackBerry balance sheet, which currently features zero debt. Or maybe there is some sort of Canadian nationalism in play here. But it's kind of hard to imagine right now that an insurance company (with a handful of retail and restaurant assets) has figured out a workable investment thesis for a dying smartphone company that every private equity firm and strategic tech acquirer has passed on.

    BlackBerry shares stopped trading in advance of the announcement, but are set to resume trading at 2pm ET. The company's shares hit an all-time high in June 2008, when they traded at $144.56 per share.