BlackBerry shares jump on Samsung takeover rumours

[MONTREAL] Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry's shares jumped 30 per cent on Wednesday following a media report of recent takeover talks with South Korea's Samsung.

Its share price gained US$2.89 in the last hour of trading, closing on the Nasdaq at US$12.60.

A report out of New York earlier said Samsung approached BlackBerry with an offer last week.

BlackBerry and Samsung representatives could not be immediately reached for comment.

Analysts meanwhile continue to be bearish on BlackBerry, setting stock targets of US$7 to US$10.

They predicted the company would continue to post significant losses this year despite gradually improving hardware sales expected from new product launches.

Tech analyst Carl Simard of Medici told AFP he was puzzled by Samsung's interest in BlackBerry, saying BlackBerry's main feature - its security encryption - would add little value to Samsung's consumer-oriented smartphones.

AFP