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BlackBerry to Sell Most Canada Real Estate

DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 9:25 AM ET 05/05/14

Symbol Last Price Change
BBRY 8.15 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:00:01 PM ET 05/02/2014

BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY) said Monday that it has agreed to sell the majority of its Canadian real-estate holdings to San Francisco-based real-estate investment firm Spear Street Capital LLC for $278 million.

The Waterloo, Ontario, smartphone maker had earlier this year announced its intention to sell the real estate, but hadn't provided details until now. The sale involves more than 3 million square feet of space, some of which BlackBerry will lease back from Spear Street Capital, as well as vacant lands.

BlackBerry previously has said that despite the sale, it remains committed to having a strong Canadian presence and continues "to consider Waterloo home to our global headquarters."

The real-estate sale is part of Chief Executive John Chen's wide-ranging overhaul of the company. Mr. Chen, who took the helm last November, has replaced most of the executive suite, reached an outsourcing deal with Taiwan'sFoxconn Technology Group, and invested in niche markets like health care.

Mr. Chen, who is based in Silicon Valley, commutes to Waterloo.

Write to Will Connors at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-05-140925ET
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