Posted on February 5, 2009, at 5:31 pm .
Woah. It looks like the Ontario Securities Commission has made their decision on a possible settlement with RIM over their backdating scandal. The news is fresh as of an hour ago, so I’m just going to quote straight from Reuters:
Research In Motion Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie will step down from the board and, along with other executives of the company that makes the BlackBerry smartphone, will repay tens of millions of dollars to settle stock-option allegations dating back to 1996.
Under the pact reached with the Ontario Securities Commission and approved on Thursday, Balsillie will pay a penalty of C$5 million ($4.1 million), while Co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis will pay a C$1.5 million penalty. The two men also must pay investigation costs to the regulator.
The agreement also stipulates that the two co-CEOs and RIM’s former CFO, Dennis Kavelman, will repay C$38.3 million to the company. They must also repay about C$30 million to cover the costs of a voluntary internal probe into the matter undertaken by RIM earlier.
Balsillie and Lazaridis had already paid C$15 million to offset the costs of the Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s internal review. Balsillie may not serve on RIM’s board for at least 12 months as part of the settlement, and Kavelman must pay a C$1.5 million penalty.
The OSC alleged the executives backdated and repriced stock options using dates on which the market price of RIM’s shares was relatively low. Handing out options at the lower prices had the effect of improperly enriching the recipients and, the OSC alleged, could have deprived RIM of about C$66 million.
It’s a huge chunk of change, but at least RIM can now put this whole affair behind them. You can see statements from Balsillie and the OSC after the jump.
|via Reuters|
Continue reading ‘BREAKING: RIM settles with OSC for $76 million, Balsillie to step down from board’
Posted on February 4, 2009, at 12:46 pm .
It looks like RIM is taking care of business this week. One day after doubling their offer to security company Certicom, the Ontario Securities Commission said in a statement that they have reached a potential settlement with RIM’s co-CEO’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie following their investigation into a stock option scandal dating back to 1996.
The Ontario Securities Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that it would hold a hearing Feb 5 in Toronto on whether to approve a settlement its staff reached with the company and top executives including co-chief executives Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
The regulator issued a statement of allegations in which it alleged Balsillie, Lazaridis and other RIM executives “engaged in the grant of options, in which option backdating or option repricing occurred”. A call and e-mail to the company requesting comment on the specific allegations were not immediately returned.
While no indication of the settlement amount has surfaced, I’m sure RIM will be happy just to be able to put this behind them regardless of cost. We’ll find out tomorrow.
|via Reuters|
Posted on January 28, 2009, at 2:43 pm .
The WSJ is reporting that sales of the BlackBerry Storm are not as impressive as they were expecting and are blaming “clunky software” that crippled the user experience and performance at launch only to be (partially) corrected later via software updates. This is especially interesting considering that Verizon is reporting great numbers with over 1 million Storms sold on their network. WSJ sources say sold some 500,000 units in the first month following its global release. Jim Balsillie does not seem phased by these accusations and believes that the post-launch chaos to fix bugs is part of the “new reality” of making complex smartphones in large volumes.
[Via WSJ]
Posted on January 26, 2009, at 12:40 pm .
The Globe and Mail was on hand last Thursday for an award luncheon in honor of RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who was named ‘Outstanding Business Leader of the Year’ by Wilfrid Laurier University. The event gained additional poignancy because it came on the same day news broke that Canadian regulators were seeking C$100 million from Co-CEO’s Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis for their role in a stock option accounting controversy dating back to 1996. While the luncheon crowd was clearly biased in their defense of Mr. Balsillie at the event (Joan Fisk, CEO of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, referred to Balsillie as “our boy”), significant questions as to the political timing of the charges.
Last week, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will push ahead with the creation of a national securities regulator, after the release of the final report on the subject, conducted by a panel appointed by Mr. Flaherty and led by former Conservative cabinet minister Tom Hockin.
“I’m absolutely opposed to what the OSC has proposed here. I think it is grandstanding of the highest magnitude and opportunistic given the Hockin report has just come out and all of a sudden the OSC wants to be seen as a regulatory tiger that has teeth. It’s no coincidence whatsoever,” Mr. Foerster said.
“All they’ve done is found individuals with the greatest pockets,” he added. “If I were Balsillie or Lazaridis, I would fight this all the way given the OSC’s track record with respect to litigation.”
Some have argued however, that regardless of timing, the Canadian government is sending a clear and important message to the business community. Wrong is wrong, right?
Continue reading ‘Balsillie receives award amid allegations of financial impropriety’
Posted on January 22, 2009, at 9:14 am .
Potentially big news coming via the Globe and Mail this morning regarding RIM’s braintrust. Canadian regulators are seeking a record penalty as high as C$100 million from Co-CEO’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie for their role in a stock option accounting controversy dating back to 1996. For those that don’t remember, this is the same scandal that led to Balsillie stepping down as RIM Chairman.
In 2007, a special committee of RIM’s board investigated the back-dating issue, and determined the company had backdated more than 40 per cent of stock options granted to employees since 1996. It also concluded that 12 of the 16 option grants made to Mr. Balsillie and Mr. Lazaridis between 1996 and 2006, to acquire a total of two million shares, were priced using an incorrect date.
Reached last night at his home, Balsillie declined to comment on what he described as “rumours,” the paper reported. Neither Lazaridis nor his lawyer could be reached. A spokeswoman for the OSC said: “We can’t comment on enforcement cases.”
The Ontario Securities Commision is apparently pushing for Balsillie to pay the bulk of any penalty and relinquish his seat on RIM’s board of directors for a period of time. If the full $100-million penalty were approved, it would rank as the largest penalty paid by individuals to the OSC.
|via Globe and Mail|
Posted on January 19, 2009, at 4:36 pm .
Jim Balsillie seems very eager to encourage the consumer side of BlackBerry by stating recently that they’re going “music 2.0.” Although he clearly stated that the BlackBerry is not competing with iPhone, it seems that recent moves are aimed at making the BlackBerry more competitive in the same market. While in Cannes at a music industry conference, he had the following to say about their upcoming Application Center:
“We’ve moved to [music] 2.0, where music is undergoing a radical transformation and it creates a remarkable new opportunity for content owners to monetize their content… [BlackBerry is] already very music centric, what were talking about now is our platform.
We’re ingesting apps now and it goes online in March… [It has] a billing engine and is a channel for developers – you’ll see dozens of music apps.”
The shift to on-device billing of apps and media has been a long time coming. It is said that BlackBerry now caters to somewhere around 50% consumers and this iTunes-like store will be a great revenue generator for all those new customers. At the same time, I feel a lot more can be done for enterprise first, their niche market where they can still make a lot of headway.
[Via]
Posted on December 29, 2008, at 9:41 am .
Oh, wouldn’t this be a great late Christmas present for the Jim Dog. Despite fervent denial from the Buffalo Sabres, rumors are flying that the National Hockey League team is both up for sale and that RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie is one of the potential suitors.
“We are not in negotiations to sell the team and as we have stated in the past, we will never entertain discussions to move the team out of Buffalo,” Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn said in a statement, which was isused in response to a story in this week’s Western New York Hockey magazine.
Despite the official denial, unnamed sources continue to insist that the Sabre’s billionaire owner, Tom Golisano, is listening to offers and that Quinn or an associate has had discussions with Balsillie. Basillie has been connected to potential purchases of both the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins in the past. Hopefully, we’ll see the Waterloo BlackBerrys someday soon.
Posted on November 19, 2008, at 10:21 am .
In a move that is long overdue, the Canadian Press is reporting that RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are the latest inductees to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. The brain trust of our favorite company from Waterloo were among six luminaries to be given the honour by the Junior Achievement of Canada organization.
Inductees to the Hall of Fame are nominated by their peers and are chosen by an independent selection committee representing Canada’s foremost business, academic and media institutions. Mike and Jim will be formally inducted at a ceremony in Toronto next May. Congratulations, gentlemen!
|via CP|
Posted on November 13, 2008, at 3:24 pm .
Speaking at an investor conference earlier today, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said the current market environment is rife with challenges that require careful planning.
“This is a more intense time than I’ve ever known — more variables, more need to navigate, more hands on the wheel, eyes on the road right now,” he said. “If you don’t, you do it at your peril.”
Based on the news we posted a few days ago, investors can’t agree on whether RIM is in a prime position for growth or ‘chasing Apple’. However, most agree that the current economic downturn will have a negative effect on sales.
UBS Investment Research analyst Jeffrey Fan cut his RIM revenue and earnings estimates today to reflect lower sales during the slowdown.
Continue reading ‘Jim Balsillie: market environment ‘Intense’, Bold selling ‘Really Well’’
Posted on October 31, 2008, at 8:52 am .
Jim Balsillie, RIM’s co-CEO will speak at the RBC Capital Markets Communications, Media and Technology Conference in Toronto, ON on Thursday, November 13, 2008. Balsillie’s presentation begins 11:00 a.m. EST, and will be available via live audio webcast on RIM’s website (link below). For those who can’t make it or tune in, a replay of the event will also be available on the website for two weeks following the event.
Jim Balsillie Presentation Webcast
