BlackBerry co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer Mike Lazaridis walked away from a possible takeover plan and reduced his stake in the struggling smartphone maker after it ended an attempt to sell itself.
Lazaridis now owns 26.3 million shares, or 4.99 percent of its outstanding shares, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The former BlackBerry executive, who earlier this year had considered making a bid for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, sold more than $26 million of stock this week, according to the filing. Together with co-founder Doug Fregin, he had controlled about 8 percent of the stock.
Following the collapse of a $4.7 billion buyout by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. last month, BlackBerry ended its strategic review, opting instead to raise $1 billion in convertible debt and seek a new CEO. Former Sybase Inc. chief John Chen was named executive chairman and interim CEO. The $1 billion infusion helped stabilize the unprofitable company, giving Chen time to craft a turnaround plan.
Lazaridis and Fregin had hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Centerview Partners LLC to evaluate their options for a possible deal. Yesterday, they terminated that agreement, according to the filing.
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