RIM foreign takeover would be allowed by Canadian government

Research in Motion may be bleeding money, but the BlackBerry brand still has undeniable value among certain markets, and it’s certainly possible that the company could become a target for foreign acquisition. Given RIM’s status as an icon of Canadian innovation, would the government intervene in any hypothetical deal? Not if we’re taking Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty at his word, no. Ottawa has blocked foreign takeovers before, such as Australian mining firm BHP’s attempt to buy fertilizer group PotashCorp, on the grounds that it wouldn’t provide a “net benefit” to the country. However, a healthy RIM would clearly be good for Canada’s economy, and with the company losing its status as top domestic smartphone for the first time last year the government may well be grateful for any outside assistance.