Avaya bags Nortel’s telecom unit with $900 million bid

Privately held telecommunications company Avaya Inc, which holds a majority interest in Tata Telecom, will acquire Nortel Networks' enterprise solutions division for $900 million, with an additional $15 million for an employee retention programme.

In a statement released today, the Nrtel said that it has concluded a successful auction of substantially all of the assets of its global enterprise solutions business as well as the shares of Nortel Government Solutions Incorporated and DiamondWare, to Avaya Inc.

"Our successful bid brings us closer to adding Nortel and its complementary channel, portfolio, research and development, and global presence to Avaya," said Kevin Kennedy, president and CEO, Avaya, in the statement. "We believe the acquisition brings inherent value to both organizations' customers, employees and partners, and we look forward to its successful conclusion."

Nortel said, "Both Nortel and Avaya channel partners will have opportunities to grow their business as the move to unified communications accelerates and the need for advanced services to design, deploy and manage such solutions expand."

The sale is subject to court approvals in the US, Canada, France and Israel as well as regulatory approvals, other customary closing conditions and certain post-closing purchase price adjustments.

Canadian and the US court approvals for the sale will be sought at a joint hearing tomorrow, Nortel said.