Avaya is to buy Nortel's enterprise unit for $475m,
ending weeks ofspeculationand sealing thebankrupt vendor'sfate once and for
all.
The agreement covers Nortel Networks Limited, Nortel Networks
Inc and Nortel Networks UK Ltd, and takes the form of a stalking
horse deal in the Americas and Asia, which means other bidders can
make offers, while the EMEA business will be sold as agreed.
For its money, Avaya also gets its hands on Nortel's US public
sector business Nortel Government Solutions Ltd and Arizona-based
VoIP software developer DiamondWare.
"We have determined that the
sale of our businesses maximises value while preserving
innovation platforms, customer relationships and jobs to the
greatest extent possible," said Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski.
Avaya CEO Kevin Kennedy said,"This is a strategic opportunity to
acquire talent and complementary assets that position the combined
company for growth and success. We are committed to protecting the
communications investments of the customers of Avaya and
Nortel."
In Britain, administrators Ernst & Young have the go-ahead
to sell Nortel assets to Avaya without further court approval.
It is not known how many UK jobs will be at risk as a result of
the move.
The deal is likely to be welcomed in the channel, where
Nortel partners had been struggling for months to win new
business,
and
Avayaresellers are looking forward to picking up some of
Nortel's vast UK installed base.
Later thisweek the courts are widely expected to green light the
sale of Nortel's wireless business to Nokia Siemens Networks,
pending a last-minute intervention by creditors.
This story originally appearedon MicroScope.