Those Research in Motion sale rumours aren’t going away

Research In Motion has been hit with yet another round of rumours about a sale. The Sunday Times of London alleges—without citing any sources—that the BlackBerry maker is thinking of splitting itself into two, severing the stumbling handset-manufacturing division from the still pretty solid messaging-network division. The paper reports the handset division could become a separately listed company or be sold off to big-wigs like Amazon or Facebook, while the messaging services could either be opened up to other hardware manufacturers or also put up for sale. RIM denied the possible fire sale, calling it “a silly fantasy.” The idea may make some financial sense (RBC Dominion Securities analyst Mike Abramsky was the first to float it), but it would be sad to see Canada’s former tech darling admit that taking a two-pronged approach has failed. Er, again. [Globe and Mail]