Blackberry to sell patents for mobile devices in new $900 million deal after Catapult collapse

BlackBerry said on Tuesday it would sell patents, mostly related to its mobile devices, for up to $900 million (about Rs 7,441 crore) after the Canadian software company canceled an earlier deal with Catapult IP. innovations.

Malikie Innovations will purchase the patents and pay $170 million (approximately Rs 1,405 crore) in cash upon closing of the transaction, and an additional $30 million (approximately Rs 248 crore) three years later. BlackBerry will also receive annual cash royalties on profits generated from patents related to its messaging and wireless network, among other things.

Malikie is a newly formed unit of intellectual property monetization company Key Patent Innovations.

Blackberry said last year it was exploring other options to sell its patents because the planned deal with Catapult IP Innovations Inc was taking longer than usual to complete, resulting in a loss of exclusivity.

“Catapult was unable to secure financing that would have enabled it to complete the previously announced transaction on modified terms acceptable to BlackBerry,” the Canadian company said in a statement.

Once known for its phones with a tiny physical QWERTY keyboard and the BBM instant messaging service, BlackBerry’s core businesses today are cybersecurity and software used by automakers.

Last year, the company ended service for its smartphones, the culmination of years of losing market share to Apple’s iPhones and competing Android devices.

In February 2022, Blackberry had announced that it would sell its old patents mainly related to mobile devices, messaging and wireless networks for $600 million (about Rs 4,490 crore) to a special purpose vehicle formed to acquire the company’s patent assets.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---