TORONTO – The founders of BlackBerry are in discussions to partner with investment firm Cerberus Capital Management LP to make a competitive bid for the struggling technology company.

A source familiar with the process said that Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin began talks with Cerberus in hopes that an agreement could be ironed out before a key deadline next week.

The source asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter.

The move comes ahead of a deadline set for Monday for potential BlackBerry (TSX:BB) bidders.

At that time, a due diligence period ends for Fairfax Financial (TSX:FFX), BlackBerry’s largest shareholder, which made a conditional US$9-per-share offer for the company in September.

Together, Lazaridis and Fregin own roughly an eight per cent stake in BlackBerry, while Fairfax holds about 10 per cent.

Cerberus has a long relationship with Canadian companies and in 2004 helped rescue Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) from bankruptcy.

In 2008, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CM) sold part of its structured credit portfolio to Cerberus in a US$1.05-billion deal as it backed away from exposure to the U.S. residential mortgage market.