We all know that times are hard for RIM at the moment.  The company started the search for a financial advisor to help with any strategic options that may present themselves.  According to Bloomberg the front runner is JPmorgan Chase & Co. It seems a little strange to me that RIM would choose a company that has publicly stated that RIM should be split. Read the article below and sound off in the comments.April 19 (Bloomberg) — Research In Motion Ltd. is near a decision to pick a financial adviser, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the leading candidate to help the company weigh strategy options, two people with knowledge of the matter said.A final choice hasn’t been made and could come within days, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is private.RIM Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins, who took over from company co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in January, said he’s considering strategy changes after customer and market-share losses led to five straight quarters of sales shortfalls.Tenille Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, declined to comment, citing a policy not to discuss rumor or speculation. Jennifer Zuccarelli, a spokeswoman for New York- based JPMorgan, also declined to comment.RIM would prefer to license its BlackBerry mobile operating system, a person with knowledge of the matter said earlier this week. The company is racing to put the final touches on a new platform, known as BB10, and release the first smartphone built on the software later this year.After a licensing deal, RIM’s next choice would be to find a strategic investor, the person said.German-born Heins, who joined RIM in 2007, said in March that while the company would consider a sale, that wasn’t “the main direction†he’s pursuing.RIM slipped 1.6 percent to $13.20 yesterday in New York
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Research In Motion Set to Choose Financial Adviser(April,2012)