Waterloo Feb 1 (BUS) – BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday it will sell its old patents primarily related to mobile devices, messaging and wireless networking for $600 million for a special-purpose vehicle formed to acquire the company’s patent assets.
BlackBerry said the deal with the vehicle, Catapult IP Innovations Inc, will not affect customers’ use of its products or services.
The move comes weeks after BlackBerry shut down its ubiquitous business smartphones that were CEOs, politicians and legions of fans in the early 2000s, Reuters reports.
US-listed BlackBerry shares fell 3.6% in pre-market trading. One of the so-called “meme stocks,” like GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which experienced a boom in early 2021, BlackBerry rose 41% last year.
Upon closing of the deal, the company will receive $450 million in cash and a $150 million promissory note.
Once best known for its phones with a small physical QWERTY keyboard and BBM instant messaging service, BlackBerry is today known for its cybersecurity and software used by automakers.
HF