By Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - With a bid for Blackberry Ltd, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics may be signaling that it has run out of internal options to reverse its sliding profits and protect its shrinking lead in the global smartphone market. Earnings from its mobile division, once a reliable cash cow, shrank rapidly last year, outsold by Apple Inc's iPhones in the premium segment and squeezed by the likes of Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL] at the low end. Samsung tipped its 2014 profit to decline for the first time in three years. Despite speculation that J.K. Shin, head of the mobile business, might have lost his job in December, Samsung gave Shin a vote of confidence, but analysts say he remains vulnerable if there is no meaningful recovery.

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