RIM is again the subject of takeover talk

Ever since the introduction of its first BlackBerry more than a decade ago, Research in Motion (RIM) has defied expectations that it would be gobbled by a larger rival and has effectively created the market for smartphones.

But as Google moves to buy Motorola Mobility, RIM, already under pressure from diminished prospects and declining market share, is once again the subject of takeover talk. Since the Motorola acquisition was announced on Monday, shares of RIM, which have suffered for much of the year, have shot up more than 10 per cent, mainly on speculation of a sale.

“For a long while the market cap of RIM prevented any kind of takeover,” said Adam Leach, a London-based analyst with Ovum. “I’m certainly not writing them off now, but they have got a tough job.”

The Motorola deal, which has the potential to shake up the mobile industry, comes at a difficult time for RIM. After pioneering wireless e-mail, RIM has slowly ceded control to Apple’s iPhone and to handsets that run on Google’s Android operating system. The current lineup of BlackBerrys relies on technology that dates back to the first models of the smartphone. RIM has moved to spruce up its technology. In 2010, the company bought QNX Software Systems of Ottawa and the Astonishing Tribe, a Swedish user interface design house, to recreate the BlackBerry platform.

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