BlackBerry Gets a new CEO and $1 Billion Instead of Getting Privatized

Not long ago, we told you about BlackBerry’s plans to go private in a $4.7 billion deal with Fairfax Financial. As it turns out, that process has fallen apart as the buyer couldn’t convince the banks that the deal was logical enough. Still, a lot has changed inside the company.

The CEO who turned BB10 into a reality and scraped BB7 OS, Thorsten Heins is gone. His void is filled by John S. Chen who will act as the company’s interim chief, while also serving as its chairman board of directors.

The company has also finalized a $1 billion deal with Fairfax Financial and a group of investors, as it seeks a way out of is recent troubles. Of course, in return of this generosity, the investors will decide what is best for the company and what needs to be scraped in order to move forward.

The first step as a part of that process is already taken, in the form of a newly-appointed CEO. Mr. John S. Chen, the new CEO, has a history and reputation of rescuing failing corporations so that’s not too bad at all.

More will follow in the future. However, quite contrary to what many people might be thinking right now, the handset division of the company won’t get axed at all.

“I know we have enough ingredients to build a long-term sustainable business,” the newly-appointed CEO said in an interview to Reuters, his first interview since the announcement. “I have done this before and seen the same movie before.”