RIM taps law firm to help with restructuring

From CNET News.com: The embattled smartphone company hired law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP to help it come up with a restructuring plan, according to Reuters. The report, citing anonymous sources, said RIM was looking for ways to boost the revenue from its BlackBerry 10 operating system, as well considering opening up its proprietary secure network.

RIM has previously done work with Milbank, Reuters reported.

With market share bleeding and growth all but gone, RIM needs some radical changes to even have a chance at mounting a comeback. CEO Thorsten Heins has said he was considering all options, which include selling assets, forming partnerships, or licensing its patents. Heins even said he was open to a sale of the company, but stressed that it wasn't the preferred option.

Many of the moves could help RIM boost its revenue and profits for the short term, but there's no guarantee that its planned lineup of BlackBerry 10 smartphones will be able to compete against Google's Android and Apple's iPhone. The new BlackBerrys are expected to come around the same time as the purported next iPhone.

RIM reportedly hoped to add as much as $4 billion in revenue from deals with major carriers, Reuters reported, which added the company was in discussions with the telcos already.

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