BlackBerry’s largest shareholder pumps $1 billion into the company

BlackBerry announced today that Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has agreed to purchase, through its subsidiaries, an additional $250,000,000 principal amount of 6% unsecured subordinated convertible debentures of BlackBerry. The additional Debentures will be purchased pursuant to the exercise of a previously-announced option that was granted in connection with BlackBerry’s private placement of $1 billion principal amount of Debentures on November 13, 2013, and the transaction will be completed on or before January 16, 2014.

2013 was a particularly tough year for BlackBerry. Its stock reached an all time low, it ended up having to write down inventory worth billions of dollars, and it tried selling itself but failed to spark interest in any potential buyers. Fairfax Financial Holdings, BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, made an acquisition bid of $9 per share but apparently could not raise the required funding, so it pumped in $1 billion with a few other institutional investors. BlackBerry has now announced that Fairfax has agreed to pump in even more money, $250,000,000, in convertible debentures to be precise. The $1 billion investment was also made in convertible debentures.