During RIM’s decline of the last year, the company has had a war of attrition with Samsung on two fronts: in unit sales as well as in loss of top staff and executives. Now rumours from reliable sources are circulating that Samsung may buy the company outright.

This news comes weeks after RIM rejected a joint takeover offer by Microsoft and Nokia.

News of the possible sale, which first broke on The Boy Genius Report early this morning, have sent RIM’s shares climbing on the TSX.By 11AM eastern time, the share price had risen 6.17%.

The Boy Genius Report also claims that RIM is interested in licensing its software if an amicable sales deal cannot be reached.

Technology analyst Jeff Kagan believes a Samsung acquisition of RIM would give the company what it needs to compete head to head with Apple and Google.

“This could give Samsung what they need to compete on a more head to head basis with Apple and Google,” Mr. Kagan told Hardware Canucks. “Of course they would need to update the RIM technology which RIM itself has been unable to do. So this is not a guaranteed success strategy, but it is in the right direction.”

“RIM still has lot’s of value with all their patents and technologies. They still have a valuable brand name even though it needs updating desperately. They can resuscitate it, but they have to do it quickly,” claims Mr. Kagan.

Hardware Canucks will continue monitoring the story and provide updates as they become available.