BlackBerry, which has been riding a wave of good news of late, said Tuesday it plans to sell off the “majority” of its Canadian real estate – a move that likely includes much if not all of its long-time Waterloo, Ont. campus.
In a statement, the smartphone maker said it would sell and then lease back properties, offering up for sale three-million square feet of office space.
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A leaseback is when an owner sells a property but continues to occupy the location as a rent-paying tenant.
BlackBerry said it would continue to be headquartered in Waterloo, where the one-time smartphone market leader was founded by Mike Lazaridis as Research In Motion Ltd. in the late 1990s.
“BlackBerry remains committed to being headquartered in Waterloo and having a strong presence in Canada along with other global hubs,” new chief executive John Chen said.
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Chen was appointed in November to arrest BlackBerry’s fast decline following a less than successful launch of its long awaited BlackBerry 10 handset lineup last year.
For the embattled tech firm, it’s about raising money to fund a multi-year turnaround plan that will rely less on handset sales and more of device management and mobile software services, experts say.
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“This initiative will further enhance BlackBerry’s financial flexibility, and will provide additional resources to support our operations as our business continues to evolve,” Chen said in a statement.
BlackBerry said it wouldn’t comment on the potential value of a sale and will disclose further information as required.
The company’s share price has been on a tear of late following the appointment of Chen and a new leadership team as well as on optimism over a handful of new handset deals.
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