Watsa’s Fairfax Becomes RIM’s Biggest Shareholder

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH) almost doubled its stake in the BlackBerry maker, making it RIM’s biggest investor and offering a vote of confidence to the ailing Canadian company.

Fairfax, an insurer run by Toronto-based investor Prem Watsa, owns 51.9 million RIM shares, according to a regulatory filing today. It held 26.8 million shares as of April 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company raised its stake to 9.9 percent, worth about $351 million.