RIM: Shares Leap On Reports New CEO To Sell Out

Shares of troubled BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) jumped more than 4 percent in late Monday trading amid unconfirmed reports the company has hired a banker for an auction.

RIM's U.S. shares closed at $13.42, up 53 cents, or 4.11 percent. RIM had no immediate comment.

New CEO Thorsten Heins, in his post at the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone and tablet developer for three months now, has said he would consider all options. Last month, during an investor call, he indicated those options would most likely include a sale of patents or other intellectual property.

RIM, whose shares have lost 75 percent over the past 52 weeks, is under pressure from activist shareholders Jaguar Financial of Toronto and Omega Advisers of New York to boost performance.

A report by Bloomberg News said RIM's board has decided to hire a Canadian bank as well as a foreign bank to evaluate its options. New RIM Chairwoman Barbara Stymiest is a former senior official of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY).

RIM probably won't have much trouble hiring a non-U.S. bank, especially since employees of all the major investment banks have been BlackBerry customers for years. RIM reported having as many as 77 million BlackBerry customers when it reported fourth-quarter results.

The company's market capitalization is $6.05 billion.