Cosmic Technologies, owner of the Cherry Mobile brand in the Philippines, has announced that it is buying into dying handset manufacturer BlackBerry for an estimated $780 Million (or Php33.75 billion).
The planned acquisition is a move for Cherry Mobile to go into the global market after becoming the No 1. smartphone vendor in the Philippines for a couple of years (see IDC Report: Cherry Mobile Named #1 Vendor as PH Becomes 3rd Largest Smartphone Market in SEA).
With a 21.9% market share in smartphones in the Philippines, it is estimated that Cherry Mobile shipped close to 8.8 million smartphones in 2014 (rival MyPhone, which is ranked #3 shipped an estimated 4.5 million the same year).
Cosmic Technologies will retain the BlackBerry label in the United States and Europe but hopes to also re-brand itself here in the Philippines. From Cherry Mobile, it will soon operate under the brand “Cherry Berry” which, according to the company, represents mobile devices that are not only affordable but also feature top notch security that BlackBerry is known for.
Acquisition is still ongoing but is expected to finish by late 2015 or early 2016. The first Cherry Berry devices are expected to be introduced by then.
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