IBM eyes RIM’s enterprise division: report

International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has made an informal approach to BlackBerry smart phone maker Research In Motion (RIM) for acquiring its enterprise division, Bloomberg reported today, citing two unnamed sources.

The news agency said IBM has not started talks, but is interested in the Ontario, Canada-based company's enterprise division that operates BlackBerry email and messaging services through its own servers located in several countries.

The report comes amid recent speculation that Samsung is likely to buy RIM in order to dethrone its arch rival Apple in the smart phone and tablet market, but the South Korean electronics giant has failed to stifle rumours despite time and again issuing denials.

The Bloomberg report said RIM has not yet received any buyout offers for the division that manufactures smart phones and tablets, or for the whole company, but the once smart phone giant will wait for the rollout of its BlackBerry 10 phones next year before making any decisions on a sale.

RIM, which in May hired JP Morgan and RBC Capital Markets to conduct a ''strategic review'' of its business, including a sale, is reportedly weighing plans to split its business in two, separating its struggling handset manufacturing division from its messaging network.

Its newly appointed CEO, Thorsten Heins, who is trying to turn the ailing company around, had said last month that he believed the best way to drive shareholder value was to execute its turnaround plan.