BlackBerry today announced that it plans to sell off most of its Canadian real estate holdings. Despite the announcement, the company has no plans to leave the Kitchener-Waterloo region where it was born. It will partner with real estate firm CBRE Limited to sell off over 3 million square feet of space with plans to lease back the space it still needs.
“BlackBerry remains committed to being headquartered in Waterloo and having a strong presence in Canada along with other global hubs,” said BlackBerry CEO and Executive Chair, John Chen. “This initiative will further enhance BlackBerry’s financial flexibility, and will provide additional resources to support our operations as our business continues to evolve.”
The company added that it will not comment on the potential value of this sale but would disclose information as required when a sale or series of sales take place.
Reports that BlackBerry was looking at selling off at least some of its real estate holdings first surfaced back in October. Since then, it has already sold off five buildings (about 300,000 square feet in all) along with some land to the University of Waterloo for CA$41-million in a deal set to close in February.
BLACKBERRY ANNOUNCES PLANS TO DIVEST CANADIAN REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS
Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry® Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB), a world leader in mobile communications, today announced that it intends to divest the majority of its real estate holdings in Canada.
In partnership with CBRE Limited, BlackBerry intends to strategically divest the majority of its commercial real estate portfolio through a combination of sale-leaseback and vacant asset sales. The properties to be offered for sale comprise over 3 million square feet of space.
“BlackBerry remains committed to being headquartered in Waterloo and having a strong presence in Canada along with other global hubs,” said BlackBerry CEO and Executive Chair, John Chen. “This initiative will further enhance BlackBerry’s financial flexibility, and will provide additional resources to support our operations as our business continues to evolve.”
BlackBerry will not comment on the potential value of a sale and will disclose further information as required in connection with any definitive sale transaction.
For more information on the sale of these properties, contact CBRE Limited.
About BlackBerry
A global leader in mobile communications, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The company trades under the ticker symbols “BB” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “BBRY” on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.