Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — Research In Motion Ltd.'s enterprise-services unit has attracted the interest of International Business Machines Corp., according to two people familiar with the situation.

IBM made an informal approach about possibly acquiring the division, which operates a network of secure servers used to support RIM's BlackBerry devices, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. The business may be valued at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion depending on the mix of assets included, according to Berenberg Bank.

No party has shown interest in buying all of RIM or the division that makes its phones, and the Canadian company is inclined to wait for the rollout of BlackBerry 10 phones in early 2013 before making any decisions on a sale, the person said. No talks are currently under way, according to the person.

“If they were to offload this, they are offloading their jewel,” said Adnaan Ahmad, an analyst at Berenberg with a sell rating on RIM's shares. “They want to give BlackBerry 10 a go, so I don't think this would happen until next year.”

RIM Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins, who took charge in January, is trying to turn the company around after customers defected to Apple Inc. and Google Inc.'s Android system, triggering losses and declining sales. The Waterloo, Ontario- based manufacturer said in May that it had hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and RBC Capital Markets to study strategic options. Heins has said he would prefer to find a partner or license RIM's system to other companies, rather than pursuing a sale.

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

Shares Rise

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

IBM is the world's largest provider of computer services to enterprises, and has made recent acquisitions in online commerce and human-resources software.

RIM's enterprise-service business would give IBM control of a secure and speedy e-mail system that's preferred by many large corporations over more consumer-oriented products. The fees RIM charged mobile carriers for subscriber access to its network generated revenue of $4.1 billion last year.

Phone Division

RIM has $2.2 billion in cash and investments and little debt. If the enterprise-services division is worth about $2 billion, that would suggest the company's mobile-phone business has little value to investors.

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

The new devices, which RIM says represents a total revamp of the company's product line, have seen their introduction delayed twice as engineers struggle with their development. They will also need to attract third-party application developers, who currently focus on building software for more popular smartphones. Last month, the New York Times newspaper dropped its downloadable application for BlackBerry models, which it will continue to offer for Apple and Google devices

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

The company reported a fiscal first-quarter loss in June of 37 cents a share, excluding some items, more than five times what analysts had predicted. Sales tumbled 43 percent to $2.8 billion, missing a prediction of $3.05 billion.

Instant Insights /

RIM Said to Draw IBM Interest for Enterprise-Services Unit

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