Ericsson has won the bid for the wireless division of Nortel
Networks, the bankrupt Canadian telecoms equipment firm.
The deal is almost certain to mean a full break-up of Nortel,
which
filed for US and Canadian bankruptcy protection in January.
US and Canadian courts are expected to approve this week
Ericsson's $1.1bn bid for assets that include Nortel's businesses
in the CDMA wireless technology, according to the
Financial Times.
Swedish firm Ericsson outbid Nokia Siemens and MatlinPatterson
in a nearly 12-hour auction in New York on Friday.
Richard Lowe, head of Nortel's wireless business, said both
employees and customers had expressed support for the deal.
But ahead of the bid, Canada's industry minister Tony Clement
said he would welcome a Canadian bid and had encouraged Blackberry
maker
Research in Motion (RIM) to take part.
RIM had said it was willing to pay $1.1bn for the Nortel
wireless business, but did not enter a formal bid after a
disagreement about bidding conditions set by Nortel.
Analyst said the deal will significantly expand Ericsson's
footprint in North America, mark its return to the CDMA business,
consolidate the firm's position as leading global telecoms
equipment supplier.