Business

Ripe for picking

BlackBerry is searching for a strategic white knight with a big bankroll.

The struggling smartphone company put itself on the sales block yesterday and hired JPMorgan to advise it, sending the shares up more than 10 percent.

The Canadian firm is aiming ideally for a “Google-like” investor rather than a private-equity firm, The Post has learned.

Sources familiar with the matter say the embattled company wants to strike a deal akin to the nearly $13 billion deal struck 15 months ago between tech giant Google and handset maker Motorola Mobility.

“Ideally, they’d want to be put into a big technology company,” said one person familiar with BlackBerry’s thinking.

Yesterday, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said that the company had assembled a special committee to help it explore strategic options, including a sale or a joint venture, to compete against the likes of the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy phones.

One source also floated Jeff Bezos’ Amazon as a potential strategic buyer for BlackBerry, whose phones were once such a vital and ubiquitous part of Wall Street wheeling and dealing that they were referred to as “crackberries.”

It’s possible that software giant Microsoft could enter the fray despite its partnership with Finnish mobile-phone giant Nokia.

BlackBerry’s efforts to revive its flagging businesses center on developing a partnership with an investor that can help it market and sell its newest smartphone, BlackBerry 10, said one insider.

A spokeswoman for BlackBerry declined to comment.

In the past few months, Heins has openly talked about seeking venture partners to help the company stage a comeback.

“Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives,” said Timothy Dattels, chairman of BlackBerry’s special committee, in a statement yesterday.

Shares of BlackBerry rose 10.45 percent on all the sales talk, to close at $10.78.

A deep-pocketed tech suitor may prove BlackBerry’s best option, sources said, noting that private-equity firms, including Silver Lake, have previously kicked the tires on the company without striking a deal.

One prominent analyst, who declined to be identified, speculated that Dell — the No. 3 computer marker in the midst of a takeover battle of its own — may be a possible buyer for BlackBerry if a proposed buyout led by founder Michael Dell fails.

“Buying a mobile operator is the only way to fill a big wide space in [Dell’s] product set,” the analyst explained, adding that the BlackBerry team could help Dell with tablets as well as technologies.

Bankers are betting that prospective investors in BlackBerry see value in the company’s messenger system, its trove of patents, and its proprietary enterprise server, which still holds sway among the business set.

That said, many players are doubtful that a deal can be struck for the firm even among the strategic firms, because BlackBerry has been an unofficial acquisition target for months.