Samsung Crushes Desperate RIM Bulls' Takeover Hopes, Teaches Valuable Lesson

Samsung denied rumors that it might acquire beaten-down Research In Motion, just as it did the Hewlett-Packard rumors last summer.

Shares of the beaten-down BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) soared 8% yesterday on rumors that Korean electronics giant Samsung would float a takeover bid.

However, RIM's coming back to earth hard this morning after Samsung threw water on the rumors. Spokesman James Chung was quoted by Reuters as saying, "We haven't considered acquiring the firm and are not interested in (buying RIM)."

This isn't the first time Samsung's crushed the hopes and dreams of shareholders of tech stocks facing tough times.

Back in August of last year, rumors were flying that it would acquire Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) PC business, which was then up for sale.

In response, Samsung blogged on August 24, "The recent rumors that Samsung Electronics will be taking over Hewlett-Packard Co.'s personal computer business are not true. We hope this clarifies any confusion that may have occurred."

Now, if you're going to start a rumor about a technology deal, Samsung's a great company to throw in there because it's big, it has a lot of money, and it makes just about anything that runs on electricity.

So I can understand why the desperate and corrupt are so eager to throw the company's name in the mix.

Last June, (see Desperate Bulls Resort to Takeover Chatter) I outlined the three stages of bullishness for tech investors, incidentally following a lousy RIM earnings report, which of coursed spurred takeover rumors:

1. The “I'm Buying Because I Like It” Phase
In RIM's case, this would have gone something along the lines of buying into a highly proprietary brand with a stranglehold on mobile email within a rapidly-expanding smartphone market.

2. The “Things Are Rocky Now, But Sure to Get Better” Phase
Here's where the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and Google's (GOOG) Android start making waves and taking serious chunks of the smartphone market away from RIM.

RIM starts delivering lousy earnings numbers, and the stock begins cratering. Investors' rationale evolves into something like “the current valuation discounts the bad news and ignores the company's long-term growth potential.”

3. The Takeover Phase
The last of the RIM bulls hit this phase this week. On Friday, RIM dropped over 20% following an atrocious first-quarter earnings report, taking the stock to levels not seen since 2006.

Obviously, RIM bulls have been in phase 3 for quite a while, because I can't turn around without hearing about another takeover rumor!

The lesson here is simple. Ignore takeover rumors. They are almost always complete nonsense, spread by people who don't know what they are talking about or are desperate to sound like they're in the know or both.

Just ask yourself -- how many of these rumors actually come true? Because when it comes to RIM takeover rumors, the gossip hounds are, oh, I don't know, zero for 100 so far.

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