In a coy interview with a Canadian newspaper John Sculley appears to be mulling a BlackBerry bid and says that he is a "long-time BlackBerry fan and user." October 23, 2013 8:42 PM PDT BlackBerry's Z10 smartphone. (Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) Former Apple CEO John Sculley is said to be considering buying BlackBerry, according to a report by The Globe and Mail. No, this is not a parody Onion article. The man known for firing Steve Jobs from Apple in 1985 told the Canadian newspaper that while he was not commenting on the matter he has been a "long-time BlackBerry fan and user." "The only thing I would say is, I think there's a lot of future value in Blackberry, but without experienced people who have run this type of business, and without a strategic plan, it would be really challenging," Sculley continued. "Whoever buys it would have to have a strategic plan that was credible and could succeed, and they would want to have an experienced team that would be able to implement that plan." Related stories Nokia goes big with Lumia phones, tablet BlackBerry BBM racks up 10M downloads in first 24 hours BlackBerry's BBM slingshots to top spot on Apple's App Store BlackBerry: BBM downloads for iOS, Android hit 5M in 8 hours BlackBerry BBM finally hits iOS, Android, but there's a wait list BlackBerry announced last month that it was for sale after dwindling sales and heightened competition from Apple, Samsung, and other phone makers. Shortly after the announcement, Fairfax Financial Holdings put together a consortium to buy out BlackBerry in a tentative $9 per share offer. Chinese PC maker Lenovo is also rumored to be considering the acquisition of BlackBerry. At a Forbes conference last month, Sculley recounted his clashes with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Sculley told the conference attendees that it was basically the Apple board's fault for creating an environment in which he and Jobs butted heads. While Sculley did fire Jobs, he later said that he thinks Jobs was "the greatest CEO ever." Sculley was Apple's CEO from 1983 to 1993. CNET contacted BlackBerry for comment. We'll update this story when we hear back.
In a coy interview with a Canadian newspaper John Sculley appears to be mulling a BlackBerry bid and says that he is a "long-time BlackBerry fan and user."
BlackBerry's Z10 smartphone.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Former Apple CEO John Sculley is said to be considering buying BlackBerry, according to a report by The Globe and Mail. No, this is not a parody Onion article.
The man known for firing Steve Jobs from Apple in 1985 told the Canadian newspaper that while he was not commenting on the matter he has been a "long-time BlackBerry fan and user."
"The only thing I would say is, I think there's a lot of future value in Blackberry, but without experienced people who have run this type of business, and without a strategic plan, it would be really challenging," Sculley continued. "Whoever buys it would have to have a strategic plan that was credible and could succeed, and they would want to have an experienced team that would be able to implement that plan."
Related stories
- Nokia goes big with Lumia phones, tablet
- BlackBerry BBM racks up 10M downloads in first 24 hours
- BlackBerry's BBM slingshots to top spot on Apple's App Store
- BlackBerry: BBM downloads for iOS, Android hit 5M in 8 hours
- BlackBerry BBM finally hits iOS, Android, but there's a wait list
BlackBerry announced last month that it was for sale after dwindling sales and heightened competition from Apple, Samsung, and other phone makers. Shortly after the announcement, Fairfax Financial Holdings put together a consortium to buy out BlackBerry in a tentative $9 per share offer. Chinese PC maker Lenovo is also rumored to be considering the acquisition of BlackBerry.
At a Forbes conference last month, Sculley recounted his clashes with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Sculley told the conference attendees that it was basically the Apple board's fault for creating an environment in which he and Jobs butted heads. While Sculley did fire Jobs, he later said that he thinks Jobs was "the greatest CEO ever." Sculley was Apple's CEO from 1983 to 1993.
CNET contacted BlackBerry for comment. We'll update this story when we hear back.
