RIM: Will a Buyout Happen Before $5?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- My article on Monday suggesting that social media giant Facebook (FB) or Sony would buy struggling phone manufacturer Research in Motion (RIMM) was not well received by the company's investors. However, I am beginning to wonder what serious alternatives these investors see that can salvage what little credibility the company has left.

On Monday, the stock closed below $10 -- not a surprise as I predicted It would only a couple of weeks ago in an article titled "Short RIM Under $10." However, what was a surprise is that it had taken this long.

Having lost its double-digit support, investors are now scrambling for answers to the new most important question, can it hold $5? And will an acquisition occur before it is forced to find out?

The sad part of RIM's story is that we can chronicle these discussions since the stock was trading in the $50s, then, $40s, $30s and yet today when it was just over $10 -- nothing with the company has changed to the point where one can use the words "silver lining" with a straight face.

Sadder still is to see how loyal the RIM faithful are -- even at their own peril. Remarkably, ever since the stock was at much higher levels, they have used the same tired argument that they are still using today:

1. RIM has over $2 billion in cash,

2. RIM has NO debts and

3. RIM has over 78 million subscribers worldwide.

All the while the market continues to say -- so what!

These same investors are quick to forget or blatantly ignore that the company recently reported a 20% drop in revenue from its previous quarter -- one where management said the decline was caused by BlackBerry smartphone shipments falling from 14.1 million in Q3 to 11.1 million in Q4. In other words, both Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) continue to eat its lunch.

So essentially, not only are consumers speaking with their wallets but investors have also been screaming with their positions, evident by the fact that the stock has also lost almost 72% of its value over the past 12 months. Clearly the company still does not get it and in stubborn fashion has ignored the future of mobile data and disregarded the needs of its consumers.

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