BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is selling 3 million square feet of its real estate properties in Canada to further enhance its financial flexibility. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) announced its decision to sell majority of its real estate assets in Canada as it continues to execute strategies to revive its business under the leadership of its new CEO and chairman John Chen.
3 million square feet for sale
The Canadian smartphone manufacturer emphasized that it will maintain its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario. BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) plans to divest its commercial holdings through a combination of vacant-asset sales and sale-leaseback. According to the company, the properties that will be offered for sale have a total area of approximately 3 million square feet.
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) released a promotional pamphlet indicating that 1.6 million square feet of its properties in Waterloo are for sale. The real estate assets for sale include buildings that are “historically renowned as BlackBerry’s home base and the epicenter of much of the technological innovation developed” by the smartphone manufacture over the past three decades.
Further enhance financial flexibility
“This initiative will further enhance BlackBerry’s financial flexibility, and will provide additional resources to support our operations as our business continues to evolve,” said BlackBerry CEO Chen.
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) did not provide any details regarding the potential value for the properties for sale. The company intends to disclose further information as required in connection with any definitive sale transaction. CBRE Ltd is handling the sale of the real estate properties of the smartphone manufacturer.
Stock climbs
The stock price of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) surged more 9.36% to $9.93 per share on Tuesday in New York. The increase was primarily driven by the report that the United States Department of Defense deployed 80,000 BlackBerry phones this year, which is a big win for the company as it concentrates its focus on enterprises and governments.
In August of last year, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) received authority to operate (ATO) on the networks of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The ATO covers BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones integrated with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.
