Microsoft + RIM = MicroBerry?

With the global economy taking a beating, all companies stocks are dropping. However, scarier news is that Microsoft may be planning a RIM takeover bid.

The last couple have weeks have seen technology stocks plummet. Included in those companies have been the obvious names ; Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo ! and Google. Some were affected more than others, however, the takeover talk has been pretty quiet.

According to Reuters, Canadian cell phone manufacturer, Research In Motion, has seen stocks drop to $60, down from $148 four months ago. While a drop that sharp could spell takeover bid for any company, Reuters quotes analyst Peter Misek, from Canaccord Adams as saying for Microsoft, “"RIM is a massive strategic fit." Misek goes on to hint that Microsoft might be planning on purcahsing the company. "I’m fairly certain they have a standing offer to buy them at $50 (a share),” he said.

So at $60 a share, RIM won’t be ready to sell just yet. However, talk of the current financial situation indicates things are going to get worse before they get better, failing that, they’ll stay the way they are for a while. Should RIM’s stock fall any further and Microsoft makes an offer, we could see a MicroBerry before long.

Hands up who else gets that ’sweaty palms, sense of impending doom,’ feel from this deal ?

Without a doubt RIM would be a goldmine for Microsoft. For a company that’s been trying to get a foot in the smartphone door for years now, RIM is a dream come true. It already has a reputation for high quality, reliable hardware and a userbase that’s nearly always willing to upgrade to the next handset they bring out.

Leaving aside RIM’s current push into the social-smartphone market, the general consensus is that BlackBerrys are for businessmen, not college students. Microsoft recently spent $300 million on an ad campaign to convince the consumer that there was more to Microsoft than a stiff in a suit. Acquiring BlackBerry would enhance Microsoft’s corporate reputation and boost business, but it would do nothing for the image it’s currently trying to create with either the off-beat, quirky Bill and Jerry commercials or the ads that show everyone from actors, designers and rappers to scientists, teachers and researchers using PCs.

As it stands, BlackBerrys are business, something that reputation-wise, is no use to Microsoft. However before the year is over, the most social BlackBerry to date will hit stores and RIM is hoping to turn its all-business reputation into a something that says work hard, have fun. If the company can pull this off, Microsoft would be insane not to make an aggressive bid for the Canadian company. That said, if RIM succeeds in creating a more social façade, the Storm would likely be the best contender to kick the iPhone off its high horse and RIM would be stupid to hand that away to someone else.

For anything to happen, RIM’s shares would need to drop below $50. Nothing is set in stone yet but we’ll be watching those stocks.