科技前沿:黑莓待價而沽求生存

BlackBerry has put itself up for sale as part of a wider strategic review to help the ailing Canadian handset maker in its battle for survival in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

黑莓(Blackberry)已準備出售自己，這是整體戰略評估的一部分，旨在幫助這家陷入困境的加拿大手機制造商在競爭慘烈的智能手機市場生存下來。

In a sign of the failure to stem subscriber defections following the launch of its much heralded BlackBerry 10 devices, the maker of the once must-have device for the business world conceded that it needed to look at options for its future including a sale or alternatives such as joint venture.

這家曾是商界必備設備的製造商承認，它需要研究未來選擇，包括出售或者合資等替代方案。這一跡象表明，其大力宣傳的黑莓10設備上市後，未能阻止訂戶流失。

Shares in the group, which had fallen by more than a third in the past month following a profit warning in June, gained 5 per cent to almost $11.

黑莓股價上漲近5%，至近11美元。自6月份發佈利潤預警以來，過去一個月裏黑莓股價累計下跌逾三分之一。

At that share price the company is valued at about $5.3bn, a steep drop from a market capitalisation of more than $41bn just three years ago.

按目前股價計算，黑莓市值約爲53億美元，與僅僅3年前高達410多億美元的市值相比，一落千丈。

But by the time the company’s new BlackBerry 10 handset was launched, many analysts said they lacked clear technological advantages to the myriad smartphones already on the market. Initial sales have been disappointing

等到該公司的黑莓10手機上市時，很多分析人士表示，與市場上已有的形形色色的智能手機相比，黑莓欠缺明顯的技術優勢。初期銷量令人失望。

BlackBerry will set up a special committee chaired by board member Timothy Dattels to look at the options, with recent speculation suggesting that the group could consider partnerships with private equity groups or even separate its business into handset and services operations.

黑莓設立了由董事會成員蒂莫西•達特爾斯(Timothy Dattels)帶領的特別委員會，研究各種選擇。近期有人猜測，黑莓可能考慮與私募股權集團結成合作夥伴關係，甚至把企業分拆成手機和服務運營兩大塊。

A take-private deal akin to that of Dell would at least allow the group the benefits of rebuilding away from the public eye, according to analysts.

分析人士表示，類似於戴爾(Dell)的私有化交易將至少讓黑莓在公衆視線以外重建。

Rivals such as China’s Lenovo have also been linked with takeover interest in the past, although others such as Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Huawei have been mooted as interested parties by analysts.

過去中國聯想(Lenovo)等競爭對手曾表示過收購興趣，不過Facebook、亞馬遜(Amazon)、微軟(Microsoft)以及華爲等其他企業也被分析人士列爲有興趣的潛在收購方。

However, bankers have privately warned that the value of its assets has dropped in the past year given BlackBerry’s dwindling subscriber base and uncertainty over its intellectual property, and pointed to a worrying cash burn in its accounts.

不過，銀行家們私下警告，由於用戶基礎下滑，知識產權不確定，過去一年來資產價值已經下跌，並指出其“燒錢”速度令人擔憂。

There is also a political angle given how embedded the devices are in governments. “While Lenovo would likely be the most willing buyer,” says Jefferies, “we think the US government would block an acquisition due to national security concerns.”

考慮到黑莓設備在政府部門中的滲透率，還存在一個政治角度。傑弗里斯表示：“儘管聯想很可能是意願最強的買家，但我們認爲美國政府會以國家安全擔憂爲由，阻止收購。”