BlackBerry plans property sale to cut costs

"As with any major company, BlackBerry evaluates its real estate on an ongoing basis to ensure the company is optimising resources," company spokesman Lisette Kwong told AFP.

"As we work to our target of reducing expenditures by about 50% over the next three quarters, that includes optimising our space.

"Should space become unnecessary for BlackBerry's continued use, we will work with key partners in the community who may need some of our surplus," she added.

Last week, Blackberry posted a US$965m second-quarter loss, but said it hopes for a turnaround with a planned US$4.7bn buyout by long-time backer Fairfax Financial Holdings, which would take the firm private.

BlackBerry was just a few years ago a leader in smartphones, but has rapidly lost ground to Apple and other manufacturers mainly using the Google Android operating system.

Most analysts are now sounding the death knell for BlackBerry, saying the company will likely be broken up and its technologies sold off to other firms.

In financial filings, the company disclosed that it will sell off several unnamed "redundant" assets, including real estate properties, plants and equipment.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge