BlackBerry met with Facebook about potential bid: WSJ

The company logo is see at the Blackberry campus in Waterloo, September 23, 2013. REUTERS/Mark Blinch·Reuters· (Reuters)

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd executives flew to California to meet with Facebook Inc last week to gauge its interest in a potential bid for the struggling smartphone-maker, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter. It remains unclear if Facebook is interested in placing a bid. Both companies declined to comment on the WSJ report. Any deal would be an alternative to a tentative $9 a share offer from a consortium led by its largest investor, Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, which wants to buy BlackBerry for $4.7 billion and take it private. Other companies are also taking a look at the company's books to decide whether to make an offer, according to industry sources. (Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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