BlackBerry Ltd. said on Tuesday it would sell patents, primarily related to its mobile devices, for up to $900 million after the Canadian software company scrapped an earlier deal with Catapult IP Innovations Inc..
Malikie Innovations Ltd. will buy the patents and pay $170 million in cash on deal closing, and another $30 million three years later. BlackBerry will also get annual cash royalties from the profits generated from the patents, relating to its messaging and wireless networking among others.
Malikie is a newly formed unit of intellectual property monetization firm Key Patent Innovations Ltd.
Blackberry said last year it was exploring other options to sell its patents as the planned deal with Catapult IP Innovations Inc. was taking longer than usual to close, leading to a loss in exclusivity….