After Research in Motion's January 20 decision, to withdraw from its proposed acquisition of Certicom Corp, the Mississauga, Ontario-based company has entered into negotiations with VeriSign Inc, a California-based Internet security provider!

The intimidating C$66 million takeover bid was shelved by RIM after Certicom - an encryption software maker - was granted a permanent injunction by the court, which blocked RIM's buyout bid - the company said that the conditions of the offer could be met no longer.

The exit of RIM from the deal made way for new suitors, and VeriSign stepped in! In case a deal comes through, VeriSign will pay either C$50 million net of Certicom's current cash and short-term marketable securities, or else nearly C$92 million.

In a statement, Certicom said that along with a 40% premium over RIM's recently withdrawn $1.50 per share bid, the offer by VeriSign also inclusive of a 25.7% premium over closing price of the company's common shares on the TSX on January 22.

In addition to the approval by court, the Verisign bid also requires the approval of two-third shareholders of Certicom, at a meeting scheduled in March 2009. The acquisition will place VeriSign in an advantageous position in Elliptic Curve Cryptography - a technology widely accepted as a well-organized one in terms of public-key encryption.

Certicom's regimented ECC technology is licensed to device manufacturers and software vendors, including RIM, General Dynamics, and Motorola.