Microsoft, Amazon, Nokia Want(ed) to Buy RIM, No Winner Yet [RIM’s Collapse May Be Another Company’s Goldmine, Will BlackBerry Be Reinvented by Rival Companies?]

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RIM’s not doing good at this specific time of the year, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Canadian giant corporation acquired by another important name in the mobile business. And so far we have three potential bidders that have shown interest in purchasing the BlackBerry device maker: Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia.

Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have independent reports on RIM’s potential takeover, although none of them offers us a clear conclusion as to who will save RIM next year. We do know that it’s not going to be BlackBerry 10 devices, as those kind of smartphones (and tablets) should only be released at some point in the second half of 2012.

According to Reuters, Amazon hired an investment bank to study the potential merger with RIM, but the BlackBerry maker decided not to respond to such requests as it tries to fix its own problems. In fact it looks like Amazon did not even make an official offer at the time. But right now the situation is a lot for RIM than it was last summer:

RIM’s market value has plunged 77 percent in the last 12 months to about $6.8 billion following a series of disappointing quarterly reports, delayed phone launches, weak sales of the PlayBook tablet and other missteps. The shares tumbled last week on weaker-than-expected quarterly results and the announcement of a delay in the launch of the new BlackBerry 10 phones.

Amazon and RIM are apparently still discussing the matter although RIM is not considering any merger options at this time. Rival companies Samsung and HTC, already heavily involved with Google, also ignored pitches from Wall Street bankers that tried to sell RIM in the recent past, a detailed also confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ has more details on two other potential RIM buyers, themselves Windows Phone partners. Yes, I’m talking about Microsoft and Nokia, companies very interested in the mobile environment and companies that could have the much-needed muscle to takeover RIM. Although neither Microsoft nor Nokia shined in the smartphone or tablet business in the recent years, with both companies still playing catch up to Apple and Android. Which is exactly where RIM, once a leader in the business, is right now.

Neither Microsoft nor Nokia put in actual bids, but both companies flirted with the idea. RIM wants apparently to wait for BlackBerry 10 to come out before it starts considering purchase details. It looks like RIM is all-in on BlackBerry 10, and should the QNX-based mobile platform fail then we may see it purchased by the competition.

In the mean time let’s hear it from current BlackBerry owners, will you wait for BlackBerry 10 devices to come out, or are you running for the hills getting an iPhone or Android handset instead?

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