BlackBerry Could Be Sold By November

Blackberry, which once controlled more than half of the U.S. smartphone market, is pushing for a fast auction process that could mean a sale of the struggling company as soon as November, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Blackberry said in August that it was entertaining the idea of selling the company or at the very least looking to enter a strategic alliance/partnership.  Since then, the company has held preliminary talks with interested parties, the paper said.

The paper reported that BlackBerry’s board is pushing for a quick resolution to the sales process even though they may not receive any serious bids or pull off a sale in that time frame.

Some of the potential bidders include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Bain Capital, as well as some Asian tech companies including Chinese smartphone and computer maker Lenovo Group, according to WSJ.

Lenovo’s chief executive, Yang Yuanqing, said in a recent interview “We believe that the PC industry and the mobile phone industry will continue to consolidate…If a target or deal is consistent with Lenovo’s strategy, we would take the opportunity.”

Pressure if building on Blackberry to find a buyer as the industry continues to consolidate. Microsoft struck a deal Monday to buy the handset unit of Nokia for $7 billion, which will likely secure its number 3 position in the smartphone market, analysts say.

Blackberry, which currently controls just 3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to IDC, has been struggling for some time to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy.  The company has also failed to excite buyers with its new product lines including the the all-touch-screen Z10 and a keyboard-equipped Q10.