NSN may be moving on Nortel's Ethernet unit

As the saying goes, it's not over until the fat lady sings, or in Nortel's bargain asset sale until the final highest bidder bids. A report in Bloomberg says that two unidentified people close to matter claim that Nokia Siemens Networks may be making a bid on Nortel's Ethernet assets. This development comes only weeks after Ciena put [1] a $521 million stalking horse bid on the table to purchase Nortel's Ethernet assets.

Such a deal is important for Nokia Siemens Networks because the vendor is still looking for a way to beef up its North American presence, and a possible acquisition of Nortel's Ethernet assets could be that crucial piece of the puzzle it is currently missing. In July, it lost its chance to enhance its North American wireless presence when Ericsson beat it [2] out for Nortel's CDMA assets.

Of course, NSN will be up against the obvious obstacle having to shell out a much higher bid than Ciena's $521 million stalking horse bid. Continually challenged by lower-cost rivals such as Huawei and ZTE, NSN announced a major restructuring [3] process yesterday where it's not only realigning its businesses units, but also reducing its workforce in the effort to save $732 million over the next two years.

And even if Nokia Siemens Networks has put a deal on the table for Nortel's assets, there's always a possibility that Ericsson or another competitor could come along and beat it and Ciena out.

However, if you're looking for any answer on whether NSN actually has put a bid on the table, you won't find it. Spokesmen from Nokia Siemens Networks and Nortel would not comment on whether this deal or others were on the table.  

For more:
- Bloomberg has this article [4]

Related articles
Ciena crafts deal for Nortel's Ethernet assets [1]
Ericsson could be likely bidder for Nortel's MEN [5]
Ericsson wins Nortel wireless assets for $1.1B [2]