Less than two weeks after being faced with a class action lawsuit filed by shareholders in Manhattan, embattled wireless company BlackBerry (TSX:BB) has been hit by a suit filed by Canadian shareholders in Quebec, according to technology blog Techvibes.
The suit alleges that BlackBerry knowingly or negligently misrepresented both its financial position and anticipated consumer demand for its BlackBerry 10 products. This is similar to the suit filed earlier this month, which alleged that the company misleadingly implied that the business prospects for its new smartphone line were positive, leading to an inflation of the stock price.
On October 14, BlackBerry responded to recent criticism with an open letter to reassure its customers that they can “continue to count on BlackBerry,” saying it has considerable cash on hand and a debt-free balance sheet. The letter said the company is restructuring with a goal of cutting expenses by 50%.
“These are no doubt challenging times for us and we don’t underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges we are facing,” the letter said. “We are making the difficult changes necessary to strengthen BlackBerry.”
On September 23, the company announced it had agreed to be bought out by a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for approximately $4.7 billion. The deal is expected to be finalized by November 4, but BlackBerry is entitled to explore alternative offers until that date.
