BlackBerry to be sold for $4.7 billion

BlackBerry has agreed to be sold for US$9 a share in a deal worth $4.7 billion to Fairfax Financial Holdings, a financial holding company based in Toronto, Canada, news reports said on Monday (local time).

Fairfax Financial's primary business is in insurance. It is BlackBerry's largest shareholder, owning about 10 percent of the company's common shares.

The $9 a share represents a 3.1 percent increase from the previous close.

On Friday, BlackBerry announced that it will slash 4,500 jobs, or 40 percent of its workforce.

As a result of the ascent of Samsung and Apple, BlackBerry's global smartphone market share has nosedived to less than 3 percent, according to reports.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com