AlQa'dah 18, 1434, Sep 24, 2013, SPA -- Struggling smart-telephone maker BlackBerry on Monday signed a tentative deal to be acquired by a consortium led by its biggest shareholder, setting a $4.7 billion floor in the auction of the Canadian technology company that invented mobile e-mail. The consortium is led by Fairfax Financial Holdings, a property and casualty insurer run by Canadian investor Prem Watsa. It has offered $9 per share in cash for BlackBerry, which last week announced the layoff of 4,500 workers and said it expected to report a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion. "We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue to execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with the focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world," Watsa said in a statement. Fairfax currently owns nearly 10 percent of BlackBerry shares. BlackBerry can seek superior offers until November 4. Its shares were halted pending the afternoon announcement, rose to $9.20 as trade resumed, but quickly fell back to around $8.80 by mid-afternoon.
