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Instead of an outright sale, the company said it will raise US$1-billion through a convertible debt issue while once again reshuffling its leadership structure. The lack of any firm offer in a clear auction of the company caused shares to nosedive.

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Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. either was not able to raise financing for the tentative US$4.7-billion offer that set the auction in motion, or otherwise just decided not to bid. The firm, led by chief executive Prem Watsa, did forge a new financing deal that will see Fairfax join with other, yet unnamed, institutional investors in a US$1-billion private placement of convertible debentures.

As part of the new deal, BlackBerry said chief executive Thorsten Heins would be stepping down from the embattled Waterloo, Ont.-based company after just 22 months at the helm.

Stepping into the interim CEO role for BlackBerry will be John Chen, the former leader of enterprise software firm Sybase Inc., who most recently served as a senior advisor at technology-focused private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Mr. Chen will also assume the role of executive chairman on BlackBerry’s board of directors.