Blackberry CEO John Chen

China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. might be close to completing the acquisition of struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited – for real, this time – according to reports.

Canada’s CBC News reports that Lenovo is in talks to snap up the ailing firm for around $15 per share, despite the fact that similar negotiations broke down last year. The deal was apparently derailed last time due to security concerns raised by Canada’s government, which was suspicious of Lenovo’s close ties to the Chinese government.

But fast-forward twelve months and it looks like those fears have been allayed, if the rumors are to be believed.

The sale could be seen as a risky move for Lenovo, which has been spreading itself a bit thin lately. It was recently rumored to be planning a new mobile phone business in China to take on that country’s top dog Xiaomi Inc., whilst still maintaining its own Lenovo-branded smartphone business.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific, Lenovo is still waiting for its $2.91 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition to be cleared by US regulators. The deal has been pending since January. If Lenovo snaps up BlackBerry it will have four smartphone businesses in its portfolio.

Of course any deal for BlackBerry would still need to pass a review by Canadian regulators. That means Lenovo would need to persuade lawmakers that the deal provides a “net benefit” to Canada’s economy, as well as address any security concerns.

One possibility is that Lenovo will just buy BlackBerry’s handset business and leave the enterprise software unit in Canadian hands. But that would go against BlackBerry CEO John Chen’s insistence that he has no plans to sell off the mobile business, despite its continuing losses.

BlackBerry’s most recent effort was its rather odd-looking Passport, a unique square-shaped handset that is likely to be an acquired taste for most consumers.

photo credit: G.OZCAN via photopin cc