BlackBerry CEO Resigns as BBRY Calls Off Bid; Former Sybase Executive John Chen Named Interim CEO of BlackBerry

It was a big day of announcement and revelations for BlackBerry as the Canadian company announced important decisions affecting its future.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins announced he will resign from the company and an interim has been named.

Follow the Latest Tech News on Twitter: @LatinosPostTech 

Once Heins officially steps down, former Sybase chief executive John Chen will temporarily succeed him.

The Canadian company also announced it will stop its intentions of selling BlackBerry to a conglomerate of companies led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The deal was worth $4.7 billion, but instead, BlackBerry will agreed to a $1 billion stock purchase with the aforementioned organization.

"I am pleased to join a company with as much potential as BlackBerry," said Chen, said in a press release statement. "BlackBerry is an iconic brand with enormous potential - but it's going to take time, discipline and tough decisions to reclaim our success. I look forward to leading BlackBerry in its turnaround and business model transformation for the benefit of all of its constituencies, including its customers, shareholders and employees."

The arrangement to sell BlackBerry was pitched in September when the company encountered continuous loss in profits. BlackBerry decided to focus on business software than consumer products.

The business software model might be working for BlackBerry as seen with the launch of the BBM app on Apple's iTunes and Google Play.

According to BlackBerry's BBM Executive Vice President Andrew Bocking on The Official BlackBerry Blog, the BBM app encountered 10 million downloads in 24 hours since its launch in late October.

The BBM executive vice president noted the app ranked No. 1 on Apple's free app store in 75 countries, including Canada, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and United States.

"I want to thank our customers - old and new - our employees, and our partners for their enthusiasm and commitment," wrote Bocking. "BBM is looking great on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, and the team here is very excited about the success of this launch."

__

For the latest updates, follow Latinos Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO