The smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. said on Monday that it was exploring a potential sale of the company or a joint venture, as it continued to cast about for a solution to its troubles.
The company, once known as Research in Motion, also said last year that it was exploring “strategic alternatives.†This time, however, it disclosed the formation of a special board committee to oversee the process.
And the company’s chief executive, Thorstein Heins, praised BlackBerry’s “exceptional technology†and strong balance sheet in a statement.
BlackBerry has struggled to gain traction with its latest crop of phones, which have been increasingly displaced, even among business customers, by iPhones and devices running Google’s Android operating system.
Shares in the company have tumbled more than 92 percent in the last five years, closing at $9.76 on Friday. They jumped in premarket trading to $10.47.
Prem Watsa, whose financial firm is BlackBerry’s biggest shareholder, said he planned to step down as a director, citing potential conflicts that could emerge during the board’s deliberations.
JPMorgan Chase and the law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Torys are advising BlackBerry.
