BlackBerry denies report of takeover talks with Samsung

BlackBerry shares were whipsawed Wednesday on takeover speculation.

The Canada-based smartphone maker denied that it is in merger talks with rival Samsung following a Wednesday news report that execs had met about a possible deal as recently as last week.

BlackBerry’s stock fell as much as 16 percent in after-hours trades after the company issued a statement looking to quash buyout speculation. Its shares had surged nearly 30 percent in regular trading, closing at $12.60 after hitting a 52-week high.

“BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry,” the company said.

BlackBerry, which is scrambling to pull off a turnaround under CEO John Chen, didn’t say whether it had received an offer from South Korea-based Samsung.

A Reuters report, citing unidentified sources and documents, said South Korea-based Samsung offered to buy BlackBerry for $13.35 to $15.49 per share, a premium on valuing that values the company at as much as $7.5 billion.

A merger would give Samsung access to BlackBerry’s patents, which would help it take on smartphone archrival Apple, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source.

BlackBerry launched its long-awaited Classic model on Wednesday, hoping to help win back market share and woo customers still using older devices with a keyboard. The phone resembles its once popular Bold and Curve handsets.

In the third quarter, revenue at BlackBerry fell to $793 million from $1.19 billion a year earlier, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $931.5 million.