Amazon reportedly considered a RIM purchase, 'commercial partnership' still on the table

According to those all-knowing "people with knowledge," Research in Motion could've been cut down to a single CEO company -- that is, if Amazon would've pushed through with its purported takeover wishes. Based on a new Reuters report, the same company shipping out your grandmother's holiday gifts was hot-to-trot on the idea of buying RIM, but those desires seemingly cooled after the BlackBerry maker decided that it'd rather "fix its problems on its own." Wildly enough, the report states that an investment bank was hired earlier this summer "to review a potential merger with RIM," but no formal offer was ever extended.

Of course, it's not atypical to hear of Amazon buying unusual assets -- it's snapped up everything from a touchscreen startup to a UK-based movie streaming and rental service -- and sources have affirmed that "other kinds of commercial partnerships" could still be in the cards. In fact, the two are rumored to be actively discussing ways to "expand their commercial ties, which currently include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users." BBM for the Kindle ecosystem? Zanier things have come to pass.

Amazon reportedly considered a RIM purchase, 'commercial partnership' still on the table originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/20/amazon-reportedly-considered-a-rim-purchase-commercial-partner/

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