Lenovo May Buy BlackBerry Maker

Lenovo, the world's second-largest PC manufacturer, is reportedly considering the acquisition of troubled smartphone company Research in Motion (RIM). Reports suggest that the PC maker could use RIM, which produces the popular BlackBerry device, to expand its burgeoning smartphone business.

Bloomberg notes that Lenovo is currently "assessing potential acquisition targets" and that those targets may include Waterloo, Canada-based RIM.

The latter has been in financial trouble for some time, though its stock has rebounded in recent weeks as the firm prepares to launch its highly-anticipated BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system (OS).

Lenovo CFO Hints at Acquisition

Lenovo chief financial officer Wong Mai Ming hinted at the possibility of an acquisition in a recent presentation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ming said that his firm was "looking at all opportunities," and that "We'll have no hesitation if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders." (Source: zdnet.com)

Ming added that Lenovo currently has a team working exclusively on investigating possible acquisitions and that there had been some discussion between Lenovo and RIM on the possibility of acquiring the Canadian company.

Ming, however, refused to say whether a final decision had been made on such an acquisition.

Lenovo Needs Boost in Smartphone Market

Lenovo is not new to the smartphone world, though its presence in that marketplace is rather minimal. The company currently has a range of Android-based smartphones available to consumers and says it plans to release Windows Phone 8-equipped devices in the near future.

However, it's unclear how the release of BlackBerry 10 will affect any negotiations involving a Lenovo acquisition of RIM.

For its part, Research in Motion is doing its best to ramp up excitement for the BB10 launch -- in fact, it has reportedly forked out between $3-4 million for an advertising spot during next weekend's Super Bowl. (Source: engadget.com)

BlackBerry 10's global launch is scheduled for January 30, 2013.