BlackBerry is replacing its CEO and some of its board of directors, according to official PR this morning. The push to replace CEO Thorsten Heins comes as BlackBerry's purchase deal with investor Fairfax Financial Holdings falls through, according to the newspaper. Fairfax had until today to enter into a definitive agreement with BlackBerry, but reportedly had trouble finding the funds.
BlackBerry has now raised around $1 billion by selling convertible notes to investors, and CEO Heins will leave as part of the agreement, alongside changes to the board. Heins took over the reins at BlackBerry back in January 2012, and so leaves his tenure after a little under two years in charge. During that time, BlackBerry has launched BlackBerry 10, and also a number of new handsets including the Q10, Z10 and Z30, but that has done little to turn around the company's ailing fortunes.
The company has been shopping itself around to potential buyers, including IBM, according to multiple reports, and assurances from Heins that it was considering all options, but this new change in strategy suggests it couldn't find a deal that worked for both shareholders and potential acquirers.
Developing…
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon