Fairfax looking to take BlackBerry private - paper

TORONTO (Reuters) - Fairfax Financial Holdings, which is BlackBerry Ltd's top shareholder with a 9.9 percent stake, is exploring ways to take the smartphone maker private, the Globe and Mail said on Monday.

Prem Watsa, who is chief executive of Fairfax, stepped down from BlackBerry's board on Monday, citing a potential conflict of interest with the company's announcement that it was exploring strategic alternatives. (Reporting by Cameron French; Editing by Gary Hill)