RIM Stock Soars on Speculation That Samsung Will Acquire BlackBerry

Research In Motion's share price soared more than 5% in trading today after analyst Peter Misek of Jeffries said he believes Samsung will either acquire RIM or otherwise strike a significant partnership with the company, which would involve RIM licensing BB10 to Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker.

Peter selected Samsung out of all potential suitors for RIM. He suggests Samsung, which has had success selling Android-powered hardware but owns no software of its own, is considering acquiring RIM for "insurance," partly because a competitor buying RIM would place Samsung at a disadvantage.

However, all of this may be folly. Samsung afterward issued a statement to AllThingsD that flatly denies virtually everything the analyst claimed earlier in the day: “Samsung Electronics has not considered the acquisition of Research in Motion or licensing BB10," the company affirmed.

RIM's stock sank slightly on that news, but is still up nearly 5% on the day.