BlackBerry Ltd is abandoning a plan to sell itself and instead will replace its chief executive officer and raise about $1 billion from institutional investors, including its largest shareholder, the smartphone maker said on Monday.
Shares of BlackBerry dropped 19 percent to $6.33 in premarket trading. The company will raise the money with a private placement of convertible debentures.
BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, will take up $250 million of the debentures.
Fairfax announced a tentative $9-a-share offer for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company in late September. But Reuters said on Friday that Fairfax was struggling to finance the $4.7 billion bid.