Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — Research InMotion Ltd.'s enterprise-services unit has attracted the interestof International Business Machines Corp., according to two peoplefamiliar with the situation.

IBM made an informal approach aboutpossibly acquiring the division, which operates a network of secureservers used to support RIM's BlackBerry devices, said one of thepeople, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.The business may be valued at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billiondepending on the mix of assets included, according to BerenbergBank.

No party has shown interest in buyingall of RIM or the division that makes its phones, and the Canadiancompany is inclined to wait for the rollout of BlackBerry 10 phonesin early 2013 before making any decisions on a sale, the personsaid. No talks are currently under way, according to theperson.

“If they were to offload this, they areoffloading their jewel,” said Adnaan Ahmad, an analyst at Berenbergwith a sell rating on RIM's shares. “They want to give BlackBerry10 a go, so I don't think this would happen until next year.”

RIM Chief Executive Officer ThorstenHeins, who took charge in January, is trying to turn the companyaround after customers defected to Apple Inc. and Google Inc.'sAndroid system, triggering losses and declining sales. TheWaterloo, Ontario- based manufacturer said in May that it had hiredJPMorgan Chase & Co. and RBC Capital Markets to study strategicoptions. Heins has said he would prefer to find a partner orlicense RIM's system to other companies, rather than pursuing asale.

James Sciales, a spokesman for Armonk,New York-based IBM, said the company doesn't comment on rumors orspeculation, as did Nick Manning, a spokesman for RIM.

Shares Rise

RIM shares climbed 4.5 percent to $8.15at 10:12 a.m. in New York. Before today, RIM's stock had slid 95percent from its mid-2008 high, putting its market value at $4.1billion.

IBM is the world's largest provider ofcomputer services to enterprises, and has made recent acquisitionsin online commerce and human-resources software.

RIM's enterprise-service business wouldgive IBM control of a secure and speedy e-mail system that'spreferred by many large corporations over more consumer-orientedproducts. The fees RIM charged mobile carriers for subscriberaccess to its network generated revenue of $4.1 billion lastyear.

Phone Division

RIM has $2.2 billion in cash andinvestments and little debt. If the enterprise-services division isworth about $2 billion, that would suggest the company'smobile-phone business has little value to investors.

RIM, once the world's leadingsmartphone maker, is racing to get the BlackBerry 10 lineup readyfor its debut early next year, aiming to regain market share lostto Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system.

The new devices, which RIM saysrepresents a total revamp of the company's product line, have seentheir introduction delayed twice as engineers struggle with theirdevelopment. They will also need to attract third-party applicationdevelopers, who currently focus on building software for morepopular smartphones. Last month, the New York Times newspaperdropped its downloadable application for BlackBerry models, whichit will continue to offer for Apple and Google devices

RIM is eliminating almost a third ofits workforce and shutting down manufacturing sites to boostefficiency. Its share of the global smartphone market fell to 4.8percent in the second quarter from 12 percent a year earlier asAndroid climbed to 68 percent and Apple slipped to 17 percent,according to research firm IDC.

The company reported a fiscalfirst-quarter loss in June of 37 cents a share, excluding someitems, more than five times what analysts had predicted. Salestumbled 43 percent to $2.8 billion, missing a prediction of $3.05billion.

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