Well, if there’s anyone that could successfully extract value from used-up old handset makers, it would be private equity…

The mobile space is white hot, the gaming space is white hot; now, how can companies best monetize this massive user base?

(Reuters) – Shares in Research In Motion climbed nearly 4 percent on Thursday on market speculation the BlackBerry maker had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options. RIM has been the target of a steady stream of takeover talk as its market valuation has crawled along at multi-year lows amid product delays and [...]

(Reuters) – Shares of Research In Motion jumped more than 6 percent on Tuesday on market speculation that activist investor Carl Icahn had taken a stake in the struggling BlackBerry maker. Traders “are saying Icahn has taken a stake, but nothing is confirmed,” BGC Partners tech analyst Colin Gillis told Reuters, as the shares rose [...]

Google’s $12.5 billion deal to buy Motorola Mobile Holdings is being touted as a game-changer for the wireless industry.

The deal has also started talk about which smartphone maker will be bought next. The most likely candidate? Research In Motion. The once high-flying RIM has been beset by troubles lately, including poor earnings, layoffs and its inability to make the Blackberry Playbook a healthy competitor to Apple’s iPad. And this was before Google agreed to buy Motorola Mobile.

(Reuters) – Google’s $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility brought a 9 percent gain for the beaten-down stock of tech rival Research In Motion on Monday as investors calculated what a similarly bulging premium would do for the BlackBerry maker’s asking price. But it also means one more well-heeled suitor has shunned RIM as a [...]

“And If You See a Lobbyist in a Suit…” Larry Summers on the debt deal

Dialing it Up: RIM busts out new Torches

And They’re Already Napping on the Job: Debt deal pinches FAA

Shop Around: The argument for doing tons of due diligence on your VC

Lately, new investors have been popping up from coast to coast in professional sports teams deals. As entrepreneurs’ companies and PE and VC portfolios rebound, some of the boldface names in charge of them are loosening purse strings to make the mega-ego purchases of professional ballclubs. That means that, possibly, PE pros Josh Harris and Steve Pagliuca could find themselves in a dispute not over how the carry is split in a club deal, but over who carried the ball the previous night in the Celts-76ers game.

Although these investors are savvy when it comes to LBOs, IPOs and dividend recaps, things haven’t always panned out the way they’ve wanted on the diamond/gridiron/hardwood/ice….

TORONTO, June 8 (Reuters) – BlackBerry maker Research In Motion bought social gaming company Scoreloop to help expand its Messenger application, challenged by this week’s launch of a similar instant messaging offering from Apple. Munich-based Scoreloop adds social elements, such as interactive play and social network integration, to existing mobile games. It can also enable [...]

Proxy Fight? Take it to Twitter!

Who You Callin’ Yeller? Yellow Media to Apax Partners for $745M

Ripped: A band of former White House economic advisors issue warning on the 2011 federal budget

Research in Trouble: RIM’s growth is still a disappointment