Google to buy Nortel for a whopping $900 Million
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 05 April 2011, 23:42 IST
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Toronto: Google has decided to tab on Nortel last major assets. A whopping $900 million dollar bid has been finalized. Toronto-based Nortel has been in business since 1882. It was the largest maker of telecommunication in North America. It filed for bankruptcy in 2010 following losses suffered by the company in 2009 due to recession. The 129-year-old telecom giant's accumulated problems - from the bubble burst to internal accounting scandal to the current meltdown. It seek bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada January 2010. It started selling off its various divisions to pay its debtors In a statement, Nortel said that "it, its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited (NNL) and certain of its other subsidiaries, including Nortel Networks Inc. and Nortel Networks UK Limited (in administration), have entered into a stalking horse asset sale agreement with Google Inc. for the sale of all of Nortel's remaining patents and patent applications for a cash purchase price of $900 million." The sale between the internet search engine and Nortel includes sales of portfolio of 6000 patents and patents applications for mobile and network technologies panning a broad range of technology, including wireless, data networking and semiconductors. This could help Google branch out from its core Internet search business into areas including cloud computing and mobile advertising technologies. Nortel said the agreement follows "a confidential, multi-round bidding process involving several interested companies and consortia from around the world." According to George Riedel, chief strategy officer and president of business units at Nortel, "This is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market. The patent portfolio would help Google maintain its freedom to develop new products and services. It will not only create a disincentive for others to sue Google, but also help its partners and the open source communities continue to innovate. The sale is expected in June of this year is subject to Canadian and U.S. court approvals. Apart from Google other possible bidders include Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion Ltd., as well as IBM Corp. and chipmaker Intel.

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