BlackBerry’s announcement that it will consider takeover bids followed almost a year of advisers unsuccessfully canvassing potential buyers in search of a deal, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

In recent months, as BlackBerry sales and subscriber numbers deteriorated, bankers from JPMorgan Chase and RBC Capital Markets quietly contacted possible bidders and found little interest in buying the whole company, especially among private-equity firms, said the two people, who asked that they not be named because the talks were private.

Prem Watsa, a Toronto businessman and BlackBerry's largest shareholder, also is stepping down from the board, signaling that he may play a role in rescuing the company. – (Bloomberg)