No. of Recommendations: 3
“On February 15, 2024, Prem Watsa (Trades, Portfolio), through Fairfax Financial Holdings, made a notable addition to its investment portfolio by acquiring 425,571 shares of BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB). This transaction increased the firm's holding in the company to a total of 47,150,271 shares, marking a trade impact of 0.08% at a trade price of $2.86 per share. The addition of these shares has adjusted the firm's position in BlackBerry to 9.17% of its portfolio, while its holdings in BlackBerry now represent 8.10% of the company's outstanding shares.“
If this article is true, Prem perhaps sees hidden value in perhaps R&D and/or BB patent portfolios related to Cyber Security or autonomous driving technology.
Okay, I understand his recent BB purchase worth less than $1.2mil which would not move the earnings investment needle but fascinates. Maybe BB likened to a Buffett “cigar butt” buy.Actually, I think you might draw the opposite conclusion. The story here is that Watsa was on the board of Blackberry, given the big equity and debenture positions Fairfax held. Now that Fairfax has redeemed the debentures, Watsa has left the board of Blackberry.
Resignation of Director Prem Watsa
BlackBerry also announced that Prem Watsa has decided to resign from the BlackBerry Board of Directors as of February 15, 2024, in connection with the Company’s repayment at maturity of its $150 million principal amount convertible debentures held by affiliates of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, of which Mr. Watsa is Chairman and CEO. Mr. Watsa has served as a director of the Company since November 2013 and was a member of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors. He also previously served as a director of the Company from January 2012 to August 2013. blackberry.com - Blackberry appoints philip brace to its board of directorsI can't find written confirmation of this, but I believe that Watsa was awarded a small number of shares in Blackberry as compensation for his past participation on the board, so it should not be interpreted as a sign of confidence or a belief in hidden value. I wouldn't be surprised if Watsa quietly disposed of these awarded shares, and in any case, he is clearly downsizing the overall bet on Blackberry, not upsizing (thank goodness.)
dtb
