WRAL Tech Wire

Ericsson joins bidding for Nortel’s mobile networks business

Related Stories

• N.Y. private equity firm bids $725M for Nortel assets
• BlackBerry maker Research In Motion says it wants parts of Nortel
• Government agency takes on U.S. Nortel pension fund
• Nortel has more interest in wireless assets beyond Nokia Siemens, exec says
• Nortel remains committed to 2010 Winter Games after losing London sponsorship
• FTC signs off on Nokia Siemens bid for Nortel assets
• Private equity firm confirms plans to put together Nortel bid
• As Nortel’s final demise nears, what blame should its board shoulder?
• Bankruptcy court approves Nortel plan to auction off assets

Blog Posts

• Bastille Day for Nortel's 'desperados' - Euros, not cake, on menu
• Blackmail pays: Nortel 'desperados' threaten to bomb plant, get a meeting
• How irate are French Nortel workers? They may blow up plant!
• Death watch? Nortel's 'garage sale' attracts more vultures
• Private equity firm ‘moving heaven and earth’ in a bid to buy bankrupt Nortel
• A Nortel mystery: What happens to its next-generation wireless technology?

On The Web

• Nortel

Site Search

A third bidder – Sweden-based Ericsson – has entered the bidding for bankrupt Nortel’s wireless networking division with a bid of $730 million, according to media reports.

The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported Thursday the Ericsson bid.

An Ericsson spokesperson confirmed the company’s interest, telling Reuters: "We always look at opportunities that can be of interest for Ericsson and create value for us, and we participate in this process to the point it makes sense.”

Ericsson’s bid amount, which the spokesperson did not confirm, tops earlier offers from Nokia Siemens of $650 million and a $725 bid from private equity firm MatlinPatterson, a big Nortel debt holder.

The auction is set for Friday at a bankruptcy court in New Jersey.

The auction will go ahead despite protests from Canada-based Research In Motion, which has said this week it also is interested.

In a statement issued Wednesday by Nortel and reported by Reuters, Nortel said: "Nortel, the Canadian Monitor, the U.S. Unsecured Creditors' Committee and the Ad Hoc Bondholder Group have reviewed the circumstances related to RIM and have concluded that all bidders must comply with the bidding rules in order to maintain the integrity of the court-approved process. Consistent with that process, the auction will commence as planned on Friday, July 24, 2009."

Another company, Avaya, is bidding for other parts of Nortel.

Nortel employs some 2,000 people at its campus in RTP.