BlackBerry Maker Offers $53 Million For Certicom

BlackBerry Maker Offers $53 Million For Certicom

In a move to bolster its security, Research In Motion said Wednesday it plans to make an unsolicited takeover bid for data encryption specialist Certicom.
The BlackBerry maker said it will make an offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Certicom for $1.21 per share, a premium of roughly 76% over the current share price.



RIM said Certicom would be a "natural fit" for the smartphone maker because Certicom is a worldwide leader in device security with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which is used for the majority of BlackBerry security operations.

RIM currently licenses Certicom's technology, and the BlackBerry maker has been in acquisition negotiations with the company since February 2007.