BlackBerry (BBRY) said today that an investor group led by Fairfax Financial will have another month to purchase an additional $250 million of convertible debentures. If the option is exercised, the purchase will be completed on or before January 16, 2014.
BlackBerry issued an initial $1 billion of convertible debentures to Fairfax last month when it abandoned its plan to go private, and installed software veteran John Chen as CEO. Chen has said that after he completes his stint as interim CEO he wants to bring in a long-term CEO with a software and services background.
One of Chen’s primary areas of focus is the popular BlackBerry Messenger app. Starting this month, mobile device distributor Brightstar will install BBM on Android devices, as will 11 device manufacturers that focus on emerging markets. About 80 million people use the BBM app, and about 20 million of those are using it on a non-BlackBerry device. BBM for iOS and Android was released this fall, shortly before Chen took over the troubled company.
Some investors have speculated that Chen may groom BlackBerry for an eventual takeover, but the company’s increasing debt levels could make it less attractive to potential buyers. Another possible complication is the Canadian government, which reportedly blocked Lenovo when the Chinese smartphone maker expressed interest in buying BlackBerry earlier this year.
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