- Sources tell the NYT BlackBerry (BBRY) Mike Lazaridis has "separately approached" P-E firms Blackstone and Carlyle about a possible bid for the company he co-founded. They caution talks are preliminary.
- The WSJ has also reported of Lazaridis' interest in a bid, but is short on details.
- Lazaridis was BlackBerry's co-CEO (along with Jim Balsillie) until last year, and still owns a sizable minority stake that could help facilitate a deal. Some of the remarks he made during his tenure (e.g. "There will never be a BlackBerry with an MP3 player or camera.") wound up being infamous.
- Yesterday's giant FQ2 warning and layoff announcement could allow Lazaridis to obtain a lower price, but it might also make P-E support harder to come by.