On June 22 Nokia Siemens Networks BV became the
stalking-horse bidder for the wireless infrastructure business of bankrupt Nortel Corp. If its $650 million bid succeeds, it will get Nortel's CDMA operations (the world's second largest) plus its LTE assets. LTE, or long-term evolution, is a standard for the next generation of cell-phone service.
But carriers will be making their LTE decisions in the short-term -- which means Nokia Siemens has no time to lose in getting the deal closed and the assets integrated into its own wireless infrastructure business.
According to a report in TelephonyOnline both AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and T-Mobil USA have already issued RFPs soliciting bids for upcoming trials, and Nortel has responded to both.
"Time is our enemy," Richard Lowe, Nortel's president of carrier networks, says in the report.
The bankruptcy process has its own schedule, however. The Deal Pipeline (subscription required)
reports that the auction isn't until July 24, with a hearing on bidding procedures expected Monday in Delaware. An Ontario court must also approve the auction. -
Kenneth Klee
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