To the armchair analyst, RIM splitting itself into two separate business units – a move that for the longest time management has decried – was the only way the company could survive in a shifting mobile landscape. Now, The Sunday Times (subscription required), is reporting that RIM’s management is seriously mulling that option.

The Times didn’t cite sources, but mentioned that Facebook and Amazon are “potential buyers.” Another option, according to the paper, would see the company staying as one unit but selling a controlling share to a larger firm.

Last month RIM hired JP Morgan and RBC Capital to analyze its strategic options.

“RIM has hired advisers to help the company examine ways to leverage the BlackBerry platform through partnerships, licensing opportunities, and strategic business model alternatives,” CNET reported a RIM spokesperson as saying. “As [CEO] Thorsten [Heins] said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, ‘We believe the best way to drive value for our stakeholders is to execute on our plan to turn the company around.’ This remains true.”

As Hardware Canucks has previously reported, a foreign takeover by RIM may run afoul of the Investment Canada Act.