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Samsung BlackBerry gobble DENIED: We're not for sale to Sammy – execs

The internet, where rumors last mere hours

Samsung was today rumored to be eyeing up acquiring BlackBerry for $7.5bn – until the Canadian biz point-blank shot down the anonymous claims within hours later.

Reuters cited unnamed well-placed sources in announcing the South Korean giant was in talks with BlackBerry so it could snap up the troubled phone maker's patent portfolio. It's possible none of those insiders were in Waterloo, Ontario, because the "exclusive" report was news to BlackBerry.

"BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry," BlackBerry said in a statement.

"BlackBerry’s policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly it does not intend to comment further."

BlackBerry shares jumped up 30 per cent following Reuters' claims, and fell to 15 per cent up in after-hours trading once the Canadians had issued their denial.

This isn't the first time a big name was floated as a possible buyer for BlackBerry, which owns a load of patents plus technology like the natty real-time operating system QNX. The company formerly known as RIM has been the subject of acquisition rumors ever since it began its precipitous journey into the basement of the mobile market.

Last year, Lenovo was the buyer du jour for the Canadian firm. Before that, it was Huawei that was sniffing around, and then Cisco and SAP.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry execs remain adamant they are trying to turn the company around without help from a buyer. CEO John Chen says the firm can get itself back to profitability in under a year, but to do so the company will have to improve on an increasingly minuscule market share and continued competition from Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. ®

Blacknote

Whoever was running the @BlackBerry Twitter feed on Wednesday was caught sending out tweets to followers from... yes, an iPhone, it's reported.

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