BlackBerry announced late on April 1st that it has decided not to renew its licensing agreement with T-Mobile Inc. that expires later in April this year. This move of BlackBerry comes surprisingly about two months after the Chief Executive Officers of both companies had an online dispute.
The problems between the companies began in February this year, when the Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile – Mr. John Legere encouraged in an e-mail the companys customers who were also BlackBerry users to shift to Apple Inc.s iPhone 5. This part of T-Mobiles broader marketing strategy push was considered “inappropriate and ill-conceived” by BlackBerrys Chief Executive Officer Mr. Chen, who, as cited by the Wall Street Journal, said: “I can assure you we are outraged too.”
The situation escalated when the loyal customers of BlackBerry posted a number of angry responses to Mr. Legeres offer on social networks forums, which pushed him to publicly reassure BlackBerry that it has the full support of T-Mobile.
According to the terms of the agreement, T-Mobile U.S. Inc. has the right to sell products of BlackBerry. The company will lose this exclusive right after the expiration of the contract on April the 25th. As reported by Reuters, BlackBerry, however, said in its statement that it will provide service and ensure that the already existing customers on the network of T-Mobile get regular support.
The Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry said in the companys statement, part of which was included in the official press release posted by the company: “BlackBerry has had a positive relationship with T-Mobile for many years. Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers. We hope to work with T-Mobile again in the future when our business strategies are aligned, We are deeply grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers and will do everything in our power to provide continued support with your existing carrier or ensure a smooth transition to our other carrier partners.”
BlackBerry rose by 0.25% to $8.10 per share on Monday on the NASDAQ, marking a one-year return of -46.48% and a market value of $4.26 billion.
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