Rumor: Samsung plotting purchase of RIM

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 19 2012, 12:07

A fresh burst of emerging rumor suggests Canadian technology specialist Research In Motion (RIM) could well be in the acquisition crosshairs of consumer electronics heavyweight Samsung.

More pointedly, a BGR report claims RIM may soon become a Samsung property as a result of losing traction against the widespread proliferation of smartphone alternatives from the likes of Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung.

If the report—which conveniently withholds its sources—is to be believed, any agreement between the two parties is presently someway distant due to Samsung’s refusal to meet RIM’s apparently lofty asking price.

However, a spokesman for Samsung has since attempted to quash talk of an acquisition attempt, telling Reuters the tech company has not approached RIM with regard to purchase and has no interest in doing so.

In answer to mounting whispers, industry analysts have posited that RIM and Samsung could perhaps strike a licensing deal if a formal purchase isn’t on the table, which would provide the latter with access to a genuinely high-end mobile operating system of its own.

According to the latest market sales projections by Nielsen, RIM currently holds a mere 14.9 percent of the U.S. smartphone sector, while Google’s increasingly popular Android accounts for 46.3 percent, and a resurgent Apple iOS has 30 percent.

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