Meet Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa, the Man who is buying BlackBerry

Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa is the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, the company that has bid $4.7 billion to acquire troubled smart phone maker BlackBerry. Fairfax is also the top shareholder in BlackBerry.

Mr Watsa was born in 1950 and trained as a chemical engineer at IIT Chennai. He moved to Canada in 1972, where he kept a low profile for a long time. For his first 15 years since he took over Fairfax in 1985, he barely spoke to a reporter, and he only started holding investor conference calls in 2001.

Mr Watsa is often described as the Canadian Warren Buffett because he also takes the long view. Mr Watsa is an old hand at looking wrong today and right tomorrow.

Watsa's tryst with BlackBerry:

Just over a year ago, Mr Watsa had said that BlackBerry was a "Canadian success story," a good buy and a likely turnaround story even though its market share was tumbling.

BlackBerry's fortunes have only deteriorated since then, with the latest blow coming on Friday, when Blackberry said it would cut 40 per cent of its workforce.

Mr Watsa stepped down from the BlackBerry board of directors in August, citing a potential conflict of interest, as the company said it was exploring the sale of itself and other options. But as soon as Mr Watsa stepped down from Blackberry's board, speculation grew that he would launch a bid for the troubled smartphone maker.

And that's exactly what he did on Monday. The $9 a share tentative offer will set a floor for any counteroffers that might emerge for Blackberry, which has been on the block since August.

Mr Watsa has suggested that investors looking for a short-term rebound in BlackBerry might be disappointed.

"Is it going to turn around in three months, six months, nine months? No," he told reporters. "But if you're looking four, five years ... We make investments over four or five years."

So far, BlackBerry has not been a turnaround story under Mr Watsa's watch. Since January 2012, a period when Fairfax has raised its stake in the company from a little more than 2 per cent to just under 10 per cent, BlackBerry's share price has slumped.

Fairfax's long road to success:

Fairfax, both an insurance holding company and Mr Watsa's investment vehicle, was on the losing end of bets against the market in the mid-2000s as Mr Watsa waited for the U.S. mortgage industry to collapse.

The company's stock fell by 50 per cent between mid-2003 and mid-2006. But when the market began to weaken in 2007, Fairfax began notching up investment gains, pulling in billion-dollar profits in 2007 and 2008.

Since their 2006 low of C$100, Fairfax's shares have more than quadrupled.

Fairfax has generally not been known as an activist investor, but Mr Watsa has not shied away from a fight, launching a $6 billion lawsuit against a group of hedge funds in 2006, accusing them of conspiring to the drive the company's shares down so they could be shorted. A short position enables an investor to profit when a stock drops.

Apple launches iPhone 5S and $99 iPhone 5C with five colors

The iPhone 5S, which starts at $199, includes the much-expected fingerprint sensor. The iPhone 5C, with retina display, will retail for $99 for 16GB with a two-year contract or $199 for the 32GB version.

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its new flagship iPhone 5S and a new budget smartphone, the iPhone 5C, as it seeks to attract more customers and revitalize interest in its devices.

The iPhone 5S includes updated components, comes in three colors, and includes a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device and make purchases. It will retail for $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, or $399 for 64GB, all with a contract. The iPhone 5C, which is made of plastic, starts at $99 for the 16GB version or $199 for 32GB with a two-year contact.

Preorders start Friday. The devices will be available in stores on September 20.

"The iPhone 5C is made with all the incredible technology that customers have loved with the iPhone 5, but there's more, too," Phil Schiller said during the event. "It has an incredible new design -- one that's more fun, and more colorful than anything we've made before."

The iPhone 5C will sport a 4-inch retina display, like the iPhone 5, as well as an A6 chip inside with "blazing-fast performance." The battery is larger than in the iPhone 5, and it includes an 8MP iSight camera, with the five-element lens and IR filter as seen on the 5.The budget device has a polycarbonate wrap-around back. It will come in five colors -- green, white, blue, red, and yellow. The screen wallpaper will match the exterior of the phone. For the new iPhone 5C, Apple also designed $29 custom cases made of silicon with a microfiber lining.

Meanwhile, Apple also unveiled its latest flagship device, the iPhone 5S, which it called "the most forward-thinking phone anyone has ever made." It's made of high-grade aluminum and comes in silver, gold, and "a new space gray."

The device also sports a new A7 processor. The A7 chip includes 64-bit capabilities, which makes it on par with PC chips. The iPhone 5S is "up to twice as fast" as the previous-generation system and has twice the graphics performance as well.

Apple also incorporated a chip that it calls the M7. This is a "motion co-processor" that aggregates and monitors accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data and offloads it from the A7. That enables a new generation of health and fitness apps, such as a new Nike+ Move app. The app keeps track of what users do, tracks their Fuel points, and lets them compete with friends.

Battery life is on par with the iPhone 5. The 5S has 10 hours of 3G talk time, 10 hours of browsing over LTE cellular networks or Wi-Fi, 40 hours of music playing, and 250 hours of standby.

The device also includes a new Apple-designed camera lens with a larger aperture and sensor. When a user takes a picture, it actually takes multiple shots and chooses the sharpest. There's also a "true-tone flash" that analyzes and presents the proper-color flash, as well as other shooting modes.

In addition, the device includes the much-expected fingerprint sensor, dubbed Touch ID. It's built right into the home button. It's still a physical button that a user needs to push down, but there's a metal ring that senses the person's finger. It can be used to unlock the phone or purchase items from iTunes.

The iPhone 5 is going away, but the iPhone 4S will now be available for free with a two-year contract.

The launch comes as the Cupertino, Calif., company faces heightened competition. Apple has been losing market share to rivals, such as Samsung, with its position in the most recent quarter falling to its lowest level in three years. As growth in the high-end smartphone market slows, Apple must find ways to attract new buyers, as well as expand into lower-priced phones.

The iPhone 5C also represents Apple's chance to broaden its market. While its smartphones are popular around the world, the majority of people in places like China can't afford $800 phones. The company plans to host an event in China later this week, where it is believed that Apple will announce a partnership with China Mobile, the world's biggest carrier.