IBM interested in RIM's Enterprise Services Unit

Information technology giant International Business Machines IBM is apparently interested in buying wireless solutions designer and manufacturer Research in Motion's RIMM enterprise services unit. According to Bloomberg, Research in Motion's enterprise services unit operates a network of secure servers that are used to support the company's BlackBerry devices. The move would point to some fascinating diversification for IBM. At the time of writing, IBM has made an informal approach, but that is expected to firm up very soon. If IBM does end up offering serious money, August could turn out to be a very profitable month for Research in Motion. Benzinga reported on Thursday that the judge presiding over its patent infringement trial with Mformation Technologies has overturned the jury's verdict, saving RIM more than $100 million. In July, the BlackBerry maker was ordered to pay $147.2 million to Mformation Technologies. District Chief Judge James Ware of the San Francisco division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California overturned the July jury verdict as a matter of law. The judge granted RIM's motion and concluded that the evidence did not support the jury's verdict. The judge vacated the $147.2 million jury award, ruling that RIM did not infringe on Mformation's patents. Mformation's only recourse is to appeal the judge's ruling. If Mformation is successful, the first jury verdict would not be reinstated; instead the two parties would have to fight the battle all over again in a new trial. RIM's announcement comes at a time when the firm is struggling to maintain its position as one of the world's largest manufacturers of smartphones. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company incurred substantial losses after launching its first tablet, the PlayBook, which failed to capture a significant portion of the worldwide tablet market. The enterprise services unit as apparently valued at between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, depending on what assets are included in any potential deal. However, Berenberg analyst Adnaan Ahmad told Bloomberg that he doesn't think the deal will happen in the near future as, "If they were to offload this, they are offloading their jewel." On Friday afternoon, Research in Motion traded at about $8.20, up roughly 4.7 percent. IBM traded at about $198. Down roughly 4 percent. Follow me @BCallwood.