Fairfax seeking $1 bln equity for BlackBerry deal - Reuters

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd was seeking over $1 billion in equity investments from institutional investors to back its preliminary $4.7 billion plan to acquire BlackBerry Ltd, the Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday. Citing unnamed people familiar with the discussions, the newspaper said Fairfax Chief Executive Prem Watsa has personally contacted several leading Canadian and U.S. pension and private equity funds to win support for the bid to buy the struggling smartphone maker. But the sources said that as of Tuesday, only one pension fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, was seriously considering joining a potential takeover consortium.

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