Shares in RIM received a much-needed boost this week, apparently in response to an analyst report speculating that a deal with Samsung could be in the pipeline.

Peter Misek, a Jefferies analyst, wrote in a note that the South Korean vendor is mulling either to license RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, or buy the firm outright. Samsung has reportedly denied such a move.

"We believe Samsung is considering ramping up its internal OS development efforts, licensing BB10, or buying RIM," wrote Misek, but he warned that "any acquisition is unlikely until after BB10 launches."

The first BB10 devices are due to launch next year following several delays. The success of the new platform is seen as a ‘make or break’ for the BlackBerry-maker, which has been hit hard by competition in the smartphone space and seen its market value plummet as a result.

While RIM CEO Thomas Heins is resisting breaking-up the firm and selling it off, he is open to licensing the new BlackBerry platform to third-party vendors.

"To deliver BB10 we may need to look at licensing it to someone who can do this at a way better cost proposition than I can do it," Heins told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper last week. "There's different options we could do that we're currently investigating.

For Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone vendor, BB10 would give it another option for its devices alongside Android. However, Misek warns that there are risks to working with an independent RIM, because RIM could be purchased by someone else and then Samsung could be frozen out. Buying RIM outright, says Misek, would therefore would "provide insurance.”

According to Bloomberg, RIM’s shares gained 4.2 percent to US$7.62 at the close in New York on Tuesday following Misek’s report.