NEW YORK, NY – An affiliate of global private equity franchise MatlinPatterson has made a bid for Nortel’s wireless business worth US $725 million, saying that it would use the division to create a "new Nortel".
After assembling a team of industry experts that includes former Nortel executives Dion Joannou, Richard Piasentin and Tony Pirih to assist with its bid, MPAM Wireless said that it plans to form a "New Nortel" built from the bankrupt Nortel’s code division multiple access (CDMA) business and long term evolution (LTE) businesses.
"This independently held business would provide a range of opportunities – from additional bolt-on acquisitions to partnerships to reinvention and new ideas from within the technology asset base," parent company MatlinPatterson said in a statement.
MPAM Wireless’ proposal is $75 million more than the stalking horse bid Nortel received from Nokia Siemens last month, and the company said that its offer will provide “a superior outcome for Nortel and all of its stakeholders”. It sent an open letter to all of Nortel’s employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders detailing its plan to “maximize value to the estate” by building a new enterprise.
