Updated 03-12-09 WirelessWeek is citing The Wall Street Journal in reporting that Nortel is in talks to sell its core wireless equipment business as well as a separate unit that builds telecom systems for offices, according to anonymous sources in the WSJ.
The WSJ reported that Nortel is said to be talking to Nokia Siemens Networks, to sell its wireless business . Avaya and Siemens Enterprise Communications, a joint venture of Siemens and technology private equity firm Gores Group, are said to be interested in the company’s enterprise unit. Cisco Systems reportedly looked at the enterprise unit but wasn’t expected to bid. Nortel declined to comment to .
113 year old Canadian technology firm Nortel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, after its loss in the third quarter ballooned to $3.41 billion and 1,300 people had to be let go.
CEO and President Mike Zafirovski wrote on the company’s Website. “Most importantly, Nortel is still very much in business
Next steps for the former Northern Telecom may include selling various business units or receiving a capital investment as a way to go private, According to Avi Cohen, managing partner at analyst firm Avian Securities, on TheStreet.com “The most likely bidders for Nortel’s assets are Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens, and Cisco Systems. We believe Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola are less likely bidders because they are struggling with their own challenges and would have a hard time financing such a purchase.”
UBS analyst Maynard Um speculated on CED that an acquisition of Nortel by Huawei would be a possible outcome giving the Chinese firm a significant increase in market access in North America. However this scernrio may run into trouble with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) regulations.
