BlackBerry's largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial, hopes to buy the smartphone maker for $9 a share. That's an extremely low premium for a once-dominant company. CNN reports that the proposed deal comes just three days after BlackBerry announced a brutal preliminary quarterly financial report, including a $1bn loss for last quarter that is expected to lead to the lay off about 4 500 staffers. The report states Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa said the deal 'will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry', and that it will 'deliver immediate value to shareholders'. The Fairfax offer isn't a done deal, according to the report. It notes BlackBerry chair Barbara Stymiest said the company would consider 'superior' deals, and the company has until 4 November to find a better offer before proposing Fairfax's plan to shareholders. Full report on the CNN money site