RIM Co-Founder Drops His Stock

That about sums it up.... by erp_consultant · 2013-02-14 09:08 · Score: 1, Insightful

When one of the founders bails you know the ship is sinking.

Re:That about sums it up.... by Lisias · 2013-02-14 09:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

Or you know that someone with deep pockets paid him to do so, lowering the prices and rendering the company vulnerable to a Hostile Takeover.
Do you know Siemens VDO, I mean, Continental A/G, I mean, Schaeffler Group? :-)

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Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:18 · Score: 0, Flamebait

Who the hell would be dumb enough to buy out RIM right now, but rich enough to do this?
Like, did the guy who ran AIG into the iceberg get a new job or something?
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:20 · Score: 5, Interesting

As a resident of Waterloo Ontario, I think Jim burned a lot of cash in philanthropy at the University of Waterloo. He might actually need the cash.
Re:That about sums it up.... by alen · 2013-02-14 09:22 · Score: 0

Why would anyone buy rim?
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:27 · Score: 5, Insightful

Patent rights.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Joce640k · 2013-02-14 09:29 · Score: 4, Interesting

When one of the founders bails you know the ship is sinking.
That's what he hopes people will think.
a) Everybody dumps their shares, share price plummets
b) He buys back his shares, dirt cheap.
c) RIM makes Apple-killing product announcement
d) Profit!!

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Re:That about sums it up.... by bws111 · 2013-02-14 09:30 · Score: 4, Informative

Except that (in spite of what the summary implies) he is no longer with the company.
Re:That about sums it up.... by j00r0m4nc3r · 2013-02-14 09:43 · Score: 2

Suicide
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:50 · Score: 0, Troll

This wasn't intentional. His PlayBook got hacked.
Re:That about sums it up.... by crazyjj · 2013-02-14 09:53 · Score: 4, Funny

He's not breaking up with RIM. He just thought that he and RIM should take a break and maybe not move so fast, you know. He still loves RIM and all, he's just not *IN* love with RIM. And that other company is just a friend.

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Re:That about sums it up.... by lister+king+of+smeg · 2013-02-14 09:58 · Score: 1

microsoft google apple and others are probably drooling over the possibility to buy rim. RIM own lots of patent for smart phones and mobile devices they also have a secure network for email and internet entrenched enterprise/government market.

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Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:18 · Score: 0

I don't think you can do that from a PlayBook.
Re:That about sums it up.... by viperidaenz · 2013-02-14 10:18 · Score: 2

Someone who wants RIM's loyal customers
Re:That about sums it up.... by viperidaenz · 2013-02-14 10:21 · Score: 2

I think step 3 is supposed to be "..." because making an Apple Killing product isn't terribly straight forward.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:23 · Score: 0

When one of the founders bails you know the ship is sinking.
That's what he hopes people will think.
a) Everybody dumps their shares, share price plummets
b) He buys back his shares, dirt cheap.
c) RIM makes Apple-killing product announcement
d) Profit!!
Actually, it's more likely that the conditions at RIM are reprising the movie Downfall.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:30 · Score: 0

But does he have no friends there either?
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:34 · Score: 1

More likely a margin call. If he borrowed against his sinking stock portfolio, at some point he would be forced to liquidate it to satisfy the terms of the loan.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:42 · Score: 0

To be fair, parent didn't imply that the co-founder is still with the company, contrarily to the summary.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 11:09 · Score: 0

He sold his shares over a year ago, when RIM was at it's absolute worst with under-performing products and massive layoffs. It was a good indication of RIM at the time, but I think they're progressed from that point. And by that I mean their doors aren't shut yet.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Pyrus.mg · 2013-02-14 11:22 · Score: 2

Don't dismiss the fact that he's a Canadian who want's to own a NHL franchise. Maybe he just needs the cash to pay off some bad feelings the current owners and NHL have toward him.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 11:32 · Score: 0

E: Bankrupt/takover
Re:That about sums it up.... by Lisias · 2013-02-14 13:35 · Score: 1

More likely a margin call. If he borrowed against his sinking stock portfolio, at some point he would be forced to liquidate it to satisfy the terms of the loan.
Makes sense!

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Re:That about sums it up.... by stymy · 2013-02-14 14:17 · Score: 2

From what I've heard about BB10, they might already have an "Apple-killer." This could just be due to very promising sales. Only time will tell.
Re:That about sums it up.... by sinnergy · 2013-02-14 14:51 · Score: 2, Funny

If sure if someone sent all 3 of them a $25 gift card to Applebees they'd abdicate willingly.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 14:56 · Score: 0

Steve Jobs bailed on Apple when John Sculley saved the company. It all depends on what management does.
Re:That about sums it up.... by sacrilicious · 2013-02-14 15:22 · Score: 1

They're good enough friends that he'll accept a RIM job.

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Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 15:52 · Score: 1

Microsoft.
Evidence? See: Nokia.
Re:That about sums it up.... by davester666 · 2013-02-14 15:57 · Score: 1

Between c) and d)
c.1) Sell on the rise in share price, but before it drops when people see through the hype

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Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 17:59 · Score: 0

From what I've heard about BB10, they might already have an "Apple-killer." This could just be due to very promising sales. Only time will tell.
The BlackBerry Z10 is definitely a very nice smartphone but they need to address some of the features missing from BlackBerry OS 10 that BlackBerry users have grown accustomed to with BlackBerry OS 5/6/7. The virtual keyboard is surprisingly easy to use and accurate especially with predictive typing as it learns the user's writing habits.
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 18:39 · Score: 0

Damn. I was going to say something like that.
Actually my idea was for him to be plotting to increase his stake for free, or just get free money by dumping his stock, taking the cash and waiting for the fact that HE dumped it to cause the value to drop, then he could buy it all back for much cheaper, and either pocket the difference, or use the overage to buy more stock, increasing the percentage he controls.
Gotta love the nearly unrestrained, law-of-the-jungle version of capitalism we have here. No rules benefits everyone!
No actually, having no rules benefits the smartest, strongest and fastest. It could be the point of all civilization is to strengthen the whole by reducing the difference in advantages some people have, making all members more likely to survive on average. This would imply civilization and ideal capitalism (unrestrained, no rules, no regulations, capitalism,) are fundamentally at odds with each other, and that if we chose one versus the other, rather than trying to split the difference, we'd probably be better off.
By the way, to anyone whose blood boils at the slightest criticism, however insightful and accurate, leveled at capitalism, or any form thereof, let me point out there are more economic systems possible than just the Adam Smith, Invisible Hand, Free Market Capitalism that we don't really have, and couldn't in real life have anyway. Everything that isn't that extreme Fundamentalist Capitalism isn't automatically communism, whether little C or large.
Re:That about sums it up.... by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 22:45 · Score: 1

If he's left the company why shouldn't he cash out his shares?
You have an awfully romantic view about business leaders if you think they let sentiment about being a "founder" get in the way of making money. It probably turned out that from a tax planning point of view, that was the right thing to do at the right time.
If he was still an employee, fair enough, he'd have to tow the party line.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:That about sums it up.... by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 22:55 · Score: 2

If sure if someone sent all 3 of them a $25 gift card to Applebees they'd abdicate willingly.
I know that slashdotters find this hard to believe, but Blackberry have a strong customer base, albeit they're not the top dog any more. Just because they're unfashionable compared with Apple/Android from a techy point of view, in places like the UK Blackberries are the phone of choice for teenagers because they are the best for texting.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-15 05:53 · Score: 0

.....and BBM is free. BB has two markets in the UK; executives and riot organisers :-)
Re:That about sums it up.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-15 15:34 · Score: 0

There's no telling how much money he's thrown away trying to acquire a team in the last 5-10 years. He blew it every time.
I get the feeling he's out of chances with the NHL.
Re:That about sums it up.... by erp_consultant · 2013-02-15 18:18 · Score: 1

I don't think anyone has a problem with him cashing out his shares. He was a founder, he's entitled to do what he wants with his shares. It's just a little alarming - at least to me - to see someone completely divest themselves from a company they helped found so quickly. Particularly since it's right when Blackberry is at a very crucial point. It sends a message that he has lot faith in the company. Some investors might be left to wonder if he knows something they don't.

Hockey Team by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

Or it's probably because he needs cash to buy an NHL team to move to Hamilton.

Re:Hockey Team by sunwukong · 2013-02-14 11:53 · Score: 4, Insightful

The way the NHL is run it'd be easier/cheaper to move Hamilton to Phoenix.

at least the're good a finance by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:11 · Score: -1

well done man... well done

ubuntu to replace it? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:11 · Score: -1

The real reason they're doing this is to test the new Ubuntu £inux phones. Those phones have experimental GPS tracking ribbons that transmit your location to the NSA from anywhere in the world along with a list of all the files on your phone. These are the same tracking ribbons used in 20 dollar bills. They have internal power supplies that are as thin as, well, paper, and are based on dark projects. Ubuntu phone is the next step.

Re:ubuntu to replace it? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:15 · Score: 1

I want some of what you're smoking
Re:ubuntu to replace it? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:47 · Score: 0

Why would you need an "experimental GPS tracking ribbon" when the phone already has a regular, non-experimental, old-as-dirt GPS receiver to do satnav? You can transmit the location and file list (file list? seriously? surely you mean contacts list, text message history, and browsing record!) over the existing 3G radio, too.
Why the hell would you add extra hardware that would be discovered in an iFixit teardown when you could do the whole thing in software, like CarrierIQ did? Geez, you didn't think this nutty conspiracy theory through very much.
Re:ubuntu to replace it? by viperidaenz · 2013-02-14 10:23 · Score: 2

Because the "experimental GPS tracking ribbons" still work when you take the battery out, man! You need to keep your phone in tinfoil if you want to keep your privacy
Re:ubuntu to replace it? by garyebickford · 2013-02-14 16:54 · Score: 1

Haha, that's what they want you to think. In reality, the tinfoil _focuses_ the radio signals, making it easier to pick up the data - and to send commands to that controller they inserted last time you got a vaccination - or was it a 'routine blood test'?

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Re:ubuntu to replace it? by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 23:15 · Score: 1

Because the "experimental GPS tracking ribbons" still work when you take the battery out, man! You need to keep your phone in tinfoil if you want to keep your privacy
At last, the voice of reason!

--
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it

If his judgment is so good ... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:15 · Score: 3, Insightful

If his judgement is so good about the mobile phone industry, how did he take the undisputed industry leader and run it off the road?

Perhaps he thinks the new models are missing the navigation wheel and the color screen is distracting.

Re:If his judgment is so good ... by thePowerOfGrayskull · 2013-02-14 14:06 · Score: 1

If his judgement is so good about the mobile phone industry, how did he take the undisputed industry leader and run it off the road?
Perhaps he thinks the new models are missing the navigation wheel and the color screen is distracting.
Exactly this. This person has largely run the company into the ground. If he's sold off his stock - and his influence on the Board... well, as a stockholder I'm celebrating.
(As were many others. Stock closed up 7% today on the news.)

Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by linuxtelephony · 2013-02-14 09:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

Wasn't he ousted earlier? Might this be a case of sour grapes and a way to get back and give RIM, I mean Blackberry, a bit of a black eye?

--
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Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:24 · Score: 0

It looks like the board showed him the door a year ago:
http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/01/23/rims_mike_lazaridis_and_jim_balsillie_resign.html
Not necessarily that he's trying to get back at them, but it's human nature to expect that the people who fired you are know-nothing idiots who will drive the truck into the ditch. I didn't read anything into this story when I first saw it.
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by fermion · 2013-02-14 09:40 · Score: 4, Insightful

Or he just wanted a few hundred million dollars. Pretty much, as far as I can tell, the guy is not connected to the company anymore. He evidently put a couple hundred thousand dollars int he company way back when, ran the company for a while, and that is about it. All that can be said is he does not think RIM is as good as an investment as some other companies. And not really that since we don't know if he is just needs money.

--
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Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by stephanruby · 2013-02-14 10:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

Might this be a case of sour grapes and a way to get back and give RIM, I mean Blackberry, a bit of a black eye?
Actually, if the headline had been been written like this:
"Recently Ousted RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie Sells all his RIM Stocks Today"
...there would have been no black eye or misunderstanding to begin with. And its following paragraph would have been immediately seen for the click-baiting fabricated lie that it really is: "While it's common to see high-level executives sell some of their shares to gain some liquidity, it's unusual to see them exit their positions completely. This has to be seen as a massive vote of 'no confidence' from someone who was on the inside long enough to know what's going on in the company. " - emphasis in bold mine.
PS: And please, don't take this to mean that I'm some Blackberry fanboy. I'm not. I personally don't have confidence in that company either. It's just that I hate to see the "news" purposefully misinterpreted in this way.
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:59 · Score: 0

thank you for expressing my sentiments. seriously, who *wouldn't* do this? i'd love to cash out a bunch of stock in a company to become exceedingly rich. then i'd retire and travel the world all the time. screw any company i helped found, who gives a fuck?
the fact that some people don't understand this is mind-boggling.
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 12:57 · Score: 0

"it's human nature to expect that the people who fired you are know-nothing idiots who will drive the truck into the ditch."
And sometimes it's true. When they fired me on my past job I gave them two to three years. They folded after two years and six months.
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by slew · 2013-02-14 13:30 · Score: 1

I may be recalling this incorrectly, but I think Steve Jobs did something like sell all his shares when he got kicked out of Apple...
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Fyzzler · 2013-02-14 14:39 · Score: 1

Wasn't he ousted earlier? Might this be a case of sour grapes and a way to get back and give RIM, I mean Blackberry, a bit of a Raspberry?

FTFY

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Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 18:06 · Score: 0

and they were/are both asshats
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 23:17 · Score: 1

"it's human nature to expect that the people who fired you are know-nothing idiots who will drive the truck into the ditch."
And sometimes it's true. When they fired me on my past job I gave them two to three years. They folded after two years and six months.
But maybe if they hadn't fired you they'd have folded after six months.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Was he ousted? Maybe sour grapes? by Gruturo · 2013-02-14 23:53 · Score: 1

I may be recalling this incorrectly, but I think Steve Jobs did something like sell all his shares when he got kicked out of Apple...
Minus one. So he'd keep receiving quarterly reports and balances.
And with that money he rescued/acquired Pixar and founded NeXT, not bad.

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Vacuum cleaners suck. Kings rule.

Help! I'm being held prisoner in this qubical! by fredrated · 2013-02-14 09:16 · Score: -1, Offtopic

I think I am about to find out if extreme boredom can be fatal.

I see it as plus by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:18 · Score: 2, Insightful

I see a founder who has had a huge strop that basically while he was at the help the company was loosing out to the rising smartphone market around it. He got sidelined and selling his stock was a final "throwing my toys out of a the pram' act. Ive seen it before, albeit in smaller startup environments. I see that Blackberry now at least has a viable modern product... and is attempting to find a direction. during then end of his tenure it was lost... Nothing more than an angry failed executive here...

Re:I see it as plus by hypergreatthing · 2013-02-14 09:49 · Score: 1

sorry but if he knows the company is not headed for better times, why should he hold onto stock that is just sitting there being devalued? But somehow if he's smart and sells it knowing it won't get better, he's somehow all angsty and trying to get back at management?

Bad decisions by Dr.+Evil · 2013-02-14 09:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

A decade of being in the right place at the right time only keeps your bad decisions in check for so long. Eventually somebody comes along and makes good decisions.

Although I don't have much hope for RIM, I think any decisions this guy makes are as irrelevant as his decisions in his last years at the company.

In related news, BBRY (aka RIMM) is up 7% by rsborg · 2013-02-14 09:20 · Score: 3, Interesting

Perhaps this is a good thing. The whole co-CEO business may look good, but there's a reason there aren't more co-leadership (or triumvirate) roles in leading companies (even GOOG ditched the triumvirate idea and shifted to a front-man+visionary model). This isn't a buddy cop movie where everything is scripted. CEOs of organizations in heavily competing markets actually do things.

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Shitty journalism by acoustix · 2013-02-14 09:25 · Score: 4, Interesting

He's no longer with the company. He was part of the train wreck co-CEO management that refused to change. I see this nothing but good that he has nothing to do with the company now.

Of course the media wants to tear down a non Apple company. They are well on their way.

--
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Re:Shitty journalism by fermat1313 · 2013-02-14 09:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

Shitty Journalism

Of course the media wants to tear down a non Apple company. They are well on their way.
What exactly are you smoking? What part of this story is shitty journalism or "tearing down a company". The founder and former CEO of an important tech company dumps all of his stock at once, which is a pretty unusual event. It's definitely reportable, as is the impact it had on the company. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and the other players in the industry weren't even mentioned.
So clearly this isn't shitty journalism. In fact, someone *not* reporting on this would be really shitty journalism. So what, exactly, is your problem with the new story?
Re:Shitty journalism by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:10 · Score: 0

... What part of this story is shitty journalism or "tearing down a company".
Maybe the part where the author claims that

this has to be seen as a massive vote of 'no confidence' from someone who was on the inside long enough to know what's going on in the company.
Re:Shitty journalism by dyingtolive · 2013-02-14 10:16 · Score: 1

Oh don't mind him. He's just the last Blackberry fanboy.

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Re:Shitty journalism by gatfirls · 2013-02-14 11:49 · Score: 1

Yes clearly his intentions were to signal his confidence in the company.
Re:Shitty journalism by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 22:05 · Score: 0

He's no longer with the company. He was part of the train wreck co-CEO management that refused to change. I see this nothing but good that he has nothing to do with the company now.
Of course the media wants to tear down a non Apple company. They are well on their way.
Seconded. He was responsible for holding the company back. It'd be no surprise that he might not like the direction the company is going, but he has already been proved wrong.

Late by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:28 · Score: 0

He's dumping his stock about four years too late.

Well, that or his company is adapting to resulting marketplace changes caused by the launch of the iPhone about four years too late...

BBRY up 7% by rsborg · 2013-02-14 09:30 · Score: 2

Or you know that someone with deep pockets paid him to do so, lowering the prices and rendering the company vulnerable to a Hostile Takeover.

Do you know Siemens VDO, I mean, Continental A/G, I mean, Schaeffler Group? :-)

So if this is intended to sink the stock it looks like it failed.

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Re:BBRY up 7% by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:53 · Score: 1

Looks like they lost 30% in one day back in December. Maybe that's when he dumped.
It's been up-hill since then... maybe on (persistent) rumors of buyout. By the time you read about anything, anywhere, it's past the real market relevance. You're trading in fall-out land.
By the time you read about it on Slashdot, it's a billion years past any market relevance.
Re:BBRY up 7% by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:04 · Score: 0

Or you know that someone with deep pockets paid him to do so, lowering the prices and rendering the company vulnerable to a Hostile Takeover.
Do you know Siemens VDO, I mean, Continental A/G, I mean, Schaeffler Group? :-)
So if this is intended to sink the stock it looks like it failed.
BB is dead, it's a 90 year old smoker claiming tobacco didn't kill them. This may be true, but reality will isn't far behind. Business moved on other than long term contacts, high level staff don't want BB, they want iStuff or Andy. The new UI is ok, nothing special, nothing bad, other than the lack of native software. BB will probably be absorbed by an MS outfit, let's hope they fare better than the former world #1, Nokia.
Re:BBRY up 7% by Lisias · 2013-02-14 13:32 · Score: 1

So if this is intended to sink the stock it looks like it failed.
Or the Takeover already started.

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Re:BBRY up 7% by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 23:07 · Score: 1

By the time you read about it on Slashdot, it's a billion years past any market relevance.
Shock news, slashdot isn't a real time source of insider info for all the armchair stock jockeys who've doubled their money by buying Apple a decade ago and think they're Gordon Gecko.

--
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it

Diversification. by Dzimas · 2013-02-14 09:31 · Score: 4, Insightful

Balsillie left the company in 2011. He has no up-to-date insider knowledge or connections with the current management team and it makes some sense for him to have sold his stock (approximately $300 million) to diversify his portfolio. I wish we could bury this sensational but meaningless story from the front page.

Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:30 · Score: 2, Funny

Balsillie left the company in 2011. He has no up-to-date insider knowledge or connections with the current management team
Yes, because Lord knows that when a founder leaves a company they lose *all* contact with their former colleagues and employees, even those who are friends.
Yep, every time I left a job I lost all access to insider information from within the corporate walls. There's no way I heard about what was going on from my friends/erstwhile co-workers. I mean, the very notion is preposterous!
It's outright *absurd* for anyone to believe this cofounder / former CEO would know *anything* more than the general public hears from the official press releases!
Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 14:57 · Score: 0

Balsillie left the company in 2011. He has no up-to-date insider knowledge or connections with the current management team and it makes some sense for him to have sold his stock (approximately $300 million) to diversify his portfolio. I wish we could bury this sensational but meaningless story from the front page.
As the child of a high-level officer/veep in Chiquita who opted out of the Cincinnati-Charlotte move, I can only wonder what repercussions this move will have. Selling of options and stocks in general en-masse usually triggers a red flag; high-level rats jumping ship usually indicate insider trading (which is why said parental unit has been watching his/her shares wither in selling them off incrementally, lest another Martha-Stewart-esque interrogation begin).
Perhaps the situation's a bit different, as Balsillie retired from his chairmanship almost 6 years ago (due to cooked books, which is what you call a spade when you have USD$250mill in errors in calculating stock options). I personally can't see that he didn't have insider information with his co-CEO position being only relinquished in January 2012 and he left the board of directors in March 2012.
I still don't understand why this isn't under more scrutiny or why people are defending this guy.
Posting anon to not involve my family, but let's just say, as a kid and young adult, I broke bread with Carl and Keith Lindner, Joe Hagin, and Steve Warshaw. I've seen my fair share of crooked business dealings. This reeks of a dump that will roll downhill for the day-traders, and if the SEC isn't up his ass to search for an audit trail, the eTraders are going to create an avalanche of short-sells that will kick intervention into high gear.
This will, eventually, cripple RIM, if not eventually cause them to file Chapter 11 (at the least; bondholders are going to check out once oversight gets involved).
Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 15:55 · Score: 0

And it's risky to hold onto BBRY stock right now. It's extremely volatile, which is good for prospecting, but not a good long-term investment.
Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 16:01 · Score: 0

Selling SOME of your stock to diversify is a smart move and doesn't signal anything. (see: Eric Schmidt)
Selling ALL of it means you think that your money is better put elsewhere, which signals that you don't have confidence in the company anymore.
Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 20:45 · Score: 0

I've seen my fair share of crooked business dealings. This reeks of a dump that will roll downhill for the day-traders, and if the SEC isn't up his ass to search for an audit trail, the eTraders are going to create an avalanche of short-sells that will kick intervention into high gear.
This will, eventually, cripple RIM, if not eventually cause them to file Chapter 11 (at the least; bondholders are going to check out once oversight gets involved).
Sorry, forgot to add the blah, blah legalese.
Disclosure: I'm short on BBRY.
Re:Diversification. by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 23:35 · Score: 1

At that level, you don't really have "friends" in companies that have got rid of you. I don't imagine anyone working at RIM/Blackberry would risk any contact with him at all. I certainly wouldn't in their shoes.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Diversification. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-15 18:43 · Score: 0

I'm long on CQB and I'm short on DOLE and FDP, which is where I shouldn't be.
Good try, though. "blah blah legalese" = "I don't understand what I'm doing, I'm going back to reddit."

Ah, but does he still have his Lotus? by accessbob · 2013-02-14 09:36 · Score: 1

I used to his Elan (I think it was an Elan) in the car-park at Waterloo.

Re:Ah, but does he still have his Lotus? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:07 · Score: 0

If it's from the 70s and FR it's an elan, if it's modern, it's an Elise, Exige, Europa(2) (only in the past couple years), or Espirit.
There were a few other models in the interim, like the carlton and some FF I can't remember, but of the 'memorable' lotus models post-70s, that's about it.
Re:Ah, but does he still have his Lotus? by mister_playboy · 2013-02-14 10:58 · Score: 1

The old Elan or the newer one... or was it a Kia? :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elan

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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will

Good move by the+eric+conspiracy · 2013-02-14 09:36 · Score: 1

RIM stock had a nice run-up late last year.

That plus the fact that this company is on the downslope makes it pretty obvious that he made a wise financial decision.

Jump To... Conclusion by CanHasDIY · 2013-02-14 09:37 · Score: 4, Insightful

Hey, give the guy a break - those high-class hookers are expensive!

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese

Re:Jump To... Conclusion by mdielmann · 2013-02-14 12:17 · Score: 2

Hey, give the guy a break - those high-class hookers are expensive!
If you think hookers are expensive, try getting married!

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Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
Re:Jump To... Conclusion by tehcyder · 2013-02-14 23:42 · Score: 1

Hey, give the guy a break - those high-class hookers are expensive!
If you've got three hundred million dollars, I seriously doubt that paying for hookers is a problem. You can take this in either of two ways, I leave the conclusion as an exercise for the reader.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Jump To... Conclusion by CanHasDIY · 2013-02-15 03:15 · Score: 1

If you think hookers are expensive, try getting married!
For some reason my brain is convinced that sentence should end with "to one."

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Jump To... Conclusion by mdielmann · 2013-02-15 05:32 · Score: 1

It was a tough call for me, so I took the conservative approach. On that note, you might appreciate this.

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Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?

Hope everyone bought the BBRY dip this morning by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:41 · Score: 0

I got in at 13.20 and it closed over 15! Made over 10% in one day!

fp FAgORZ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 09:44 · Score: -1

Consider that right operating systems will not work. And notorious OpenBSD = 36400 FreeBSD Intentions and dying. Everyone sales and so on, itself backwards,

Remember Jobs did the same by BLToday · 2013-02-14 09:45 · Score: 1, Flamebait

Remember Jobs did the same when he left Apple and started NeXT. Maybe he has a new startup doing Blackberry like products better than Blackberry.

Re:Remember Jobs did the same by mattack2 · 2013-02-14 12:11 · Score: 1

Are you sure? I thought so too, but can't find a citation.
He did sell all but one of the 1.5 million shares that he got when Apple bought NeXT, however.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Steve-Jobs-Confirms-Apple-Stock-Sale-2812791.php
Re:Remember Jobs did the same by BLToday · 2013-02-15 05:08 · Score: 1

I think I remember him mentioning it on "Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview".

Maybe he just made a mistake by sl4shd0rk · 2013-02-14 09:46 · Score: 2

And accidentally hit the 'Dump' button when he meant to hit the 'Buy' button.

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Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!

Re:Maybe he just made a mistake by wideBlueSkies · 2013-02-14 11:26 · Score: 3, Funny

Using their new GUI of course.

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Huh?
Re:Maybe he just made a mistake by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 11:37 · Score: 1

He was holding it wrong.
Re:Maybe he just made a mistake by chathan · 2013-02-14 18:23 · Score: 1

He was trying to buy -6 shares.

RIM Co-Founder Drops His Sock by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:05 · Score: -1

Die Hard 6: Now Rim Co-founder only has one sock.

Yu4O Fail It by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:07 · Score: -1

With the 3ork, or

Vmware CEO dumped $60 million shares in Fall 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:15 · Score: 1

The then CEO of Vmware Paul Maritz dumped $60,000,000 USD of shares in 3 trading days in mid-November 2012 leaving only just over 38k shares -- VMware shares have recently took a beating. Insider knowledge?

mod 0p by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 10:32 · Score: -1, Troll

sinCe we 8ade the

adios! by slashmydots · 2013-02-14 10:52 · Score: 2

Oh, that's the way to gain confidence. "We just released version 10 and it's going to turn this company around...but, I'm jumping the hell off this ship! Good luck, everyone!"

Re:adios! by OdinOdin_ · 2013-02-18 08:28 · Score: 1

http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/03/30/jim_balsillie_resigns_from_rim_board.html
> Jim Balsillie stepped down from the Research in Motion board of directors on March 2.
Looks like he was pushed out already and now BlackBerry do seem to have a new OS, new model based on numerous modern mobile programming models.
I never bought a BB before but having been a happy Nokia customer for over 12 years, I shall be registering my vote of no confidence in WinPhone8 by selecting a different brand for my contract renewal coming up this year. They seemed to have retained the good stuff they were always good up but made the ecosystem more open and friendly, no more BES lockin and other such ploys.
You'd have thought that if Jim was 100% behind the current new image for RIM we would have stuck around at the recent unveiling to claim some credit. You'd have thought Jim is fully aware of the implication of sell the entire stock holding at this particular time to on lookers.
I can only praise BBs original vision he may have had a hand in, but they did loose their way. I can only praise their current strategy they seem to be the only mobile maker with a strategy right now. If Jim was in the way then it is good for him to find something else to be doing now maybe he can offer his services to a well known Finnish brand that recently picked the wrong Canadian. Call that the final vote of no confidence form him if you will and we might have a 4 horse race to the commodity mobile bottom of the market.

apparently therapy is working for him now by swschrad · 2013-02-14 11:00 · Score: 1

because this is a sign that the delusions of grandeur and visions and voices are disappearing

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if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?

As meaningful as Woz selling AAPL. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 12:17 · Score: 0

Or Saverin shorting FB.

Big Boyz dropping out of stocks by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 12:21 · Score: 0

Hmmm ..... maybe they know something.

Given how badly he managed the company by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 13:31 · Score: 0

Maybe this should be considered an endorsement.

Keep in mind by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-14 14:05 · Score: 0

This is the guy who drove the company into the ground to begin with. The current management has made great strides. I am no RIM fan, but I am less of a Jim B. fan.

The most interesting part of this story by proca · 2013-02-14 18:13 · Score: 1

The most interesting part of this story is that no one cares

Jim Balsillie by markdowling · 2013-02-15 02:25 · Score: 1

From the Summary: This has to be seen as a massive vote of 'no confidence' from someone who was on the inside long enough to know what's going on in the company."

The guy who was desperately trying to buy an NHL franchise while Blackberry were spinning its wheels in the face of Android and iPhone? Yeah, that guy knew what was going on all right.

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RIM Co-Founder Drops His Stock

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