Rumor mill: Ericsson could move on LG-Nortel stake

Having successfully bought out Nortel's CDMA/LTE and North American GSM assets, it appears that Ericsson is ready to strike a deal for a big piece of LG-Nortel joint venture. The Seoul Economic Daily reported yesterday that Ericsson is ready to shell out money for a controlling stake in the LG-Nortel joint venture, one of the remaining pieces left to purchase in Nortel's bargain basement asset sale.

Right now, Nortel holds a 50 percent-plus-one-share stake in the LG-Nortel venture, while LG Electronics owns the remaining stake. Since May 2009, Nortel has been searching for a potential buyer of its stake in the venture. 

Last year, LG-Nortel reported $644 million in revenues from the sale of IP phones, UC platforms, VoIP platforms and WDM-PON fiber-to-the-home products.

Yesterday, LG broke its silence and said that reports of Nortel selling its stake in the venture were premature. "No schedule or partner has been decided for the moment," LG spokesman Kim Gyeong Whan said in response to an Electronic Times report that Ericsson AB may acquire a controlling 50 percent-plus-one-share stake in LG-Nortel Co.

For more:
- Light Reading Europe has this article
- Bloomberg article says no deal has been set

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