SEOUL, Jan 18 — Samsung Electronics Co said today it was not interested in taking over Research In Motion after shares of the BlackBerry smartphone maker jumped more than 10 per cent following a tech blog report that it was seeking to sell itself to the South Korean firm.

“We haven’t considered acquiring the firm and are not interested in (buying RIM),” Samsung spokesman James Chung said.

Chung also said Samsung had not been approached by the Canadian firm for a takeover.

The Boy Genius Report website cited an unidentified source as saying that RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie was meeting with companies interested in either licensing its software or buying a part or all or RIM, with Samsung leading the pack. — Reuters