The Canadian and US courts have reportedly approved the US$4.5bn sale of the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks to a consortium including several major tech and telecoms companies.
According to a Reuters report, the Ontario Superior Court and the US…
The Canadian and US courts have reportedly approved the US$4.5bn sale of the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks to a consortium including several major tech and telecoms companies.
According to a Reuters report, the Ontario Superior Court and the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware have both approved the transaction.
Nortel first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009. Since then, the US and Canadian courts have been overseeing the disposal of its assets.
Nortel’s patent portfolio includes 6,000 patents and patent applications covering wireless, data networking, semiconductors and other business communication technologies.
Google originally made a stalking horse bid of US$900m for this portfolio.
The winning consortium, which paid a price five times higher, comprises Apple, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM, Sony and data provider EMC.
The Canadian industry ministry has started an investigation into the deal. This probe focuses on whether the deal passes the conditions set out in the country’s Investment Canada Act (ICA).
This act states that acquisitions by foreign companies over C$312m must be deemed of “net benefit” to the Canadian economy.
Nortel has said it hopes to close the transaction in Q3.
