>>> BlackBerry higher by 3% pre-market; strength attributed to renewed chatter t

BlackBerry higher by 3% pre-market; strength attributed to renewed chatter that Microsoft (MSFT) could acquire the company

{http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/market_reports/117096/wall-street-drops-amid-earnings-yellen-remarks-117096.html}

In May, talk on the Street was of a possible US$7.5bn bid for Blackberry, with names in the frame including Microsoft, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Lenovo.

Microsoft is now rumoured to have bankers working on a possible offer for Blackberry, which it is said to want to beef up its own lacklustre mobile phone operation.

A market source said: "The only way Microsoft can compete with Apple is to buy a company like Blackberry that has all the technology patents and add it to its own business."

A spokesman for Microsoft told Proactive Investors: "Microsoft does not comment on rumour or speculation". Blackberry did not respond to a request for comment.