Tech Biz Roundup: RIM At Death’s DOOR, Facebook Gets GOOD and BAD News

Struggling Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) was approached by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer within the past few months, over the possibility that the Windows Phone might adopt the operating system used by the BlackBerry, according to Reuters, adding that Microsoft might make an investment in RIM. Problem is, RIM doesn’t want to lose its independence, even though analysts now believe that its very survival is at stake, after its fiscal first quarter losses. For example, Mike Walkley at Canaccord suspects that the firm now has a negative gross margin, and he forecasts that a sale will eventually occur. Bank of America is considerably more negative, downgrading RIM to Underperform, as it says that “the risk of total value destruction” is possible.

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Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares move down a bit Friday, as Ben Schachter at Macquarie’s begins coverage with a Neutral and price target of $34. The analyst is not alone in observing the ominous gap between Facebook’s large share of web usage and its notably smaller share of online ad expenditure. Further, Schachter remarks that FB’s “pace of innovation and execution are unclear,” and is also dubious regarding the firm’s ability to meet near-term Street estimates. On the other hand, Facebook’s legendary IPO didn’t seem to stunt demand for enterprise software offerings: ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) priced its own initial public offering of 11.65 million shares at $18, which exceeded the prior range between $15 and $17, opened at $23.75, and traded late afternoon Friday higher than that. Factors driving the jump could be that the firm’s cloud solutions have been gaining share in the systems management software market, and also the bidding war for its peer Quest Software.

Mobile industry veteran Scott T. Ford has been added to AT&T’s (NYSE:T) board. Ford currently serves as partner at money manager Westrock Capital, and was previously CEO of the rural carrier Alltel until its 2009 buyout by Verizon .

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