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TORONTO — BlackBerry Ltd. vigorously denied a report Wednesday that it was in talks with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. about a possible takeover, with the contradictory claims sending the Waterloo, Ont.,-based company’s shares soaring, then falling in after-hours trading.

According to a Reuters report, Samsung recently approached BlackBerry about buying the company for as much as US$7.5 billion, looking to gain access to its patent portfolio. The report cited an unnamed source who said South Korea’s Samsung proposed an initial price range of US$13.35 to $15.49 per share, which represented a premium of 38% to 60% over BlackBerry’s trading price at the time.

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Executives from the two companies, which are working with advisers, met last week to discuss a potential transaction, Reuters reported.

In a statement, BlackBerry denied holding takeover talks with Samsung, which also told Bloomberg the report is “groundless.”