Facebook Eyes Swallowing BlackBerry

Reports the two companies met over a potential takeover fuel Facebook smartphone rumors

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Mark Blinch / Reuters

BlackBerry met with Facebook last week to gauge its interest in a potential bid for the phone manufacturer, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The purchase of BlackBerry would enable the social media network to roll out its own line of smartphones, thereby reducing the company’s reliance on hardware firms like Apple and Samsung to distribute its software and collect user data, the Journal said.

Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment on the report, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that creating smartphones would be “so clearly the wrong strategy” for his business.

[WSJ]