????谷歌（Google）,、蘋(píng)果（Apple）和微軟（Microsoft）這三大巨頭，不管誰(shuí)能收購(gòu)一度如日中天,、如今卻落花流水的黑莓手機(jī)（Blackberry）,，誰(shuí)就能借此如虎添翼。雖然黑莓的銷量早已跌入低谷,，市場(chǎng)也一蹶不振,，但我們不能忘了它還有一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的安全數(shù)據(jù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)、許多忠誠(chéng)的企業(yè)客戶,、以及大量有價(jià)值的專利,，因此它對(duì)于一個(gè)戰(zhàn)略收購(gòu)者而言是一筆極劃算的交易。不僅如此,，由于收購(gòu)者或許可以通過(guò)尚未被美國(guó)政府課稅的海外收益來(lái)收購(gòu)黑莓,，因此這筆交易還會(huì)給收購(gòu)者帶來(lái)一些相當(dāng)劃算的稅務(wù)優(yōu)勢(shì)。

????黑莓在移動(dòng)市場(chǎng)上的失利已經(jīng)給股東造成了重大的損失,。2008年的時(shí)候,，作為智能手機(jī)行業(yè)的先驅(qū)，黑莓的市值曾高達(dá)840億美元,，控制了智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)五成以上的份額。而五年后,，這家公司的市值已經(jīng)縮水到了上周的48億美元,，市場(chǎng)份額也暴跌到可憐的3%。

????過(guò)去這五年里,，黑莓走了很多彎路,。簡(jiǎn)而言之，黑莓錯(cuò)在沒(méi)有及時(shí)開(kāi)發(fā)出讓消費(fèi)者輕松快捷上網(wǎng)的定制應(yīng)用,。而且黑莓花了好幾年的時(shí)間才推出一塊真正好用的,、以消費(fèi)者體驗(yàn)為中心的觸摸屏和一個(gè)還算合格的操作系統(tǒng),。

????黑莓在今年年初推出了全新的“黑莓10”系列智能手機(jī)和操作系統(tǒng)，這是公司新管理層上臺(tái)后,，為了重返消費(fèi)者市場(chǎng)而邁出的勇敢的一步,。黑莓10手機(jī)即便與市面上的其它高端手機(jī)相比也不遑多讓，而且系統(tǒng)也很流暢,，相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)比較好用,。但是無(wú)論如何，公司僅憑黑莓10已經(jīng)無(wú)力扭轉(zhuǎn)大局,。它的影響力太小,，來(lái)得也太晚了。消費(fèi)者已經(jīng)被鎖定在了蘋(píng)果,、谷歌或是微軟的移動(dòng)平臺(tái)上,。要想從其它平臺(tái)回到黑莓的平臺(tái)上會(huì)導(dǎo)致昂貴的換機(jī)成本，很多消費(fèi)者都過(guò)不了這一關(guān),。

????本周一,，黑莓正式宣布成立了一個(gè)特別委員會(huì)，尋求其它戰(zhàn)略性的替代方案,，以“提高公司的價(jià)值和規(guī)模,，加速黑莓10的部署”。黑莓表示,，它會(huì)考慮任何替代方案,，包括“可能建立合資企業(yè)、戰(zhàn)略合作伙伴關(guān)系或結(jié)盟,，甚至將公司出售,，或其它可能的交易?！眧

????目前,，走私有化道路不會(huì)給黑莓帶來(lái)任何好處。如果在幾年前或是在杠桿收購(gòu)正流行的時(shí)候走私有化,，可能還會(huì)好一些,，但是絕不是今天。當(dāng)然,，等公司私有化之后再進(jìn)行切割或出售是比較容易的,，但是黑莓的資金是逐漸減值的，先私有化再談判需要花的時(shí)間太長(zhǎng)了,，等到那時(shí),，黑莓10又成了“老人機(jī)”，公司屆時(shí)可能已經(jīng)燒干了它的31億美元現(xiàn)金,，卻什么也沒(méi)有得到,。把黑莓賣(mài)給戰(zhàn)略競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的時(shí)間就是現(xiàn)在,，而不是以后。

????現(xiàn)在蘋(píng)果,、谷歌,、微軟這三大運(yùn)營(yíng)商都在為了爭(zhēng)奪智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)的最后一點(diǎn)份額而鏖戰(zhàn)，無(wú)論黑莓花落誰(shuí)家,，都會(huì)增強(qiáng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì),。比如iPhone的iMessage功能可以讓用戶免費(fèi)發(fā)送短信給其它iPhone用戶，事實(shí)證明,，它簡(jiǎn)單有效地把很多客戶鎖定在了iOS平臺(tái)上,。無(wú)論是谷歌的Android還是微軟的WP平臺(tái)暫時(shí)都沒(méi)有能和它抗衡的對(duì)手，只是有傳言說(shuō)這兩大平臺(tái)都在研發(fā)類似的產(chǎn)品,。而黑莓的BBM系統(tǒng)的功能與iMessage相差無(wú)幾,，而且在某些地區(qū)還極為流行，其中既包括英國(guó)這樣的國(guó)家,，也包括海地這樣的第三世界國(guó)家,。如果谷歌和微軟把BBM融合到他們的平臺(tái)上，那么他們就有實(shí)力在免費(fèi)短信市場(chǎng)上與蘋(píng)果分庭抗禮,，同時(shí)也會(huì)給他們帶來(lái)全球各地的大量忠誠(chéng)客戶,，而且他們還可能會(huì)把這個(gè)平臺(tái)介紹給其他用戶。光是這一項(xiàng),，就可能給谷歌或微軟帶來(lái)幾十億美元的未來(lái)收益,。

????One of the "Big Three" mobile computing giants – Google, Apple or Microsoft - could win big by picking up a loser: the once great BlackBerry. Despite its poor sales and sad marketing, BlackBerry (BBRY) actually has a great deal to offer a strategic acquirer with its secure data network, loyal corporate clientele and slew of valuable patents. But that's not all. Such a deal also offers some sweet tax advantages for the Big Three as Blackberry could possibly be paid for using foreign earnings that have yet to be taxed by U.S. authorities.

????BlackBerry's failure to admit defeat has come at a great cost to its shareholders. In 2008, the mobile pioneer had a market value topping $84 billion and commanded more than 50% of the smartphone market. Five years later, the company's market value, as of the close of last week, came in at $4.8 billion, while its share of the smartphone market had fallen to a pathetic 3%.

????The company made many missteps during that time, but, in a nutshell, BlackBerry missed the boat when it came to developing bespoke applications that made using the mobile web easier and faster for consumers. It also took years to offer a truly usable consumer-focused touch screen with a decent operating system.

????The unveiling of the "BlackBerry 10" series smartphones and operating system earlier this year were valiant attempts by the company's new management to reenter the consumer market. The phones were comparable to other high-end phones on the market, and the operating system was smooth and relatively easy to use. But the 10 wasn't a game changer in any sense of the word and was simply too little too late. Consumers had already been locked into either Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) or Microsoft's (MSFT) operating platforms. Moving from one of the other platforms back to BlackBerry would have entailed large switching costs, which ultimately proved too high of a hurdle for consumers to leap over.

????On Monday Blackberry formally announced that it had formed a special committee to explore strategic alternatives that would "enhance value and increase scale in order to accelerate BlackBerry 10 deployment." The company said it was open to all alternatives, including "possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions."

????Going private doesn't really offer Blackberry any real advantages at this point. It would have been better to do so a couple years ago or during the leverage buy-out boom, but not today. Sure, it is easier to chop up and sell the company while it is private, but Blackberry's assets have a degrading shelf life. The time it would take to rustle up all the offers and to go private and then to negotiate deals is too long of a time table. The 10 series would look ancient by then and the company would have burned up more of its $3.1 billion cash pile for nothing. The time to sell BlackBerry to a strategic competitor is now, not tomorrow.

????Apple, Google and Microsoft could each leverage Blackberry's platform to make them more competitive as the three companies wrestle for the last bits of the smartphone market. For example, the iPhone's iMessage feature, which allows users to send free text messages to other iPhone users, has been an easy and cost effective way for Apple to lock people into its network. There is really no universal equivalent of iMessage on Google's Android operating platform or Microsoft's Window's platform, yet, despite rumors that they both were developing such a system. Blackberry's BBM system is similar to iMessage and is extremely popular in places as diverse as the United Kingdom and Haiti. Incorporation of BBM into their platforms would not only put Google and Microsoft on equal footing with Apple in the free text market, but it would also give them a built-in set of consumers from around the globe who can help spread their platform to other users. That alone could be worth billions of dollars of future revenue down the line.