Samsung floated as buyer for RIM

Samsung is considering a plan to acquire embattled mobile vendor Research In Motion (RIM), according to media reports.

News blog BGR cited unnamed sources in reporting that the two firms were considering whether to pursue an acquisition plan.

RIM has been the subject of acquisition speculation in recent months. Once a top name in the smartphone space, RIM has seen its share of the mobile market dwindle in recent years, with the rise of the iOS and Android platforms.

Samsung, meanwhile, is said to be preparing for a buying spree. Recent reports suggest the company could have as much as $41bn earmarked for expanding its research and operations budgets in 2012.

Among the areas Samsung is said to be targeting are mobile hardware and solid-state memory fabrication.

Some analysts have suggested that if a wholesale workout cannot be achieved, RIM may look to break up its hardware and mobile service brands.

Charles King, founder and principal analyst with Pund-IT, told V3 that a wholesale acquisition would be greatly preferable to RIM, rather than a breakup.

"For customers and employees, an acquisition would be preferable to being parted out," the analyst explained.

"The samsung deal sounds pretty good."

King noted that while RIM may not be the mobile juggernaut it once was, the company still has a number of attractive qualities to offer a potential buyer. Specifically, the enterprise mobile and management spaces remain strong markets for RIM.

"The biggest differentiator that RIM offers any possible suitor is being proven in the business world," King explained.

"Samsung has done fairly well on the consumer side, but, in the US at least, it does not have a high profile as a provider of business technologies."