blackberry-devices444BlackBerry has come out swinging against rumors that Samsung wants to acquire it. The company issued a statement today, saying that it “has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry.”

That comes shortly after reports surfaced on CNBC and Reuters claiming that Samsung wanted to pick up the beleaguered Canadian smartphone maker for $7.5 billion. According to the reports, Samsung was most interested in BlackBerry’s patent portfolio, which it wants to help fend off lawsuits, especially those from Apple.

BlackBerry has been trying to pick up a larger share of the smartphone market after hemorrhaging sales to Android and iOS. The company’s share of the U.S. smartphone market has dipped below that of Windows Phone, and hasn’t shown any signs of recovering, even as BlackBerry has launched new handsets.

But the company isn’t down for the count just yet. It’s working on Boeing’s top-secret secure smartphone, though it can’t say much else about what that entails. Sources tell the Toronto Globe and Mail that the company has turned down a number of buyout offers, too.

Shares of BlackBerry closed at $12.60 today after opening at $9.61, the highest point the company’s stock price reached year to date. Trading peaked at $13.05 per share after hours trading before crashing back down to $10.75 a share as of this report after BlackBerry came out to deny the allegations.

Update (6:09 PM): Samsung is now denying the rumors, too. “Media reports of the acquisition are groundless,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.