Hitachi To Buy Nortel Packet Core Components Business

Nortel said Monday it had entered into a $10 million agreement with Hitachi for Hitachi to buy some of Nortel's next generation packet core network components business.

Nortel confirmed the sale and purchase price in a press release Monday, and said the deal is subject to approval by a Delaware bankruptcy court and Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The company said it expects the deal to close by the end of 2009.

The deal excludes legacy packet core components for Nortel's GSM and UMTS businesses, but includes all software to support the transfer of data over existing wireless networks as well as the non-patent intellectual property, equipment and a non-exclusive license for the use of some related Nortel patents.

Hitachi's $10 million buy is the fourth major sale of a piece of Nortel to be announced since Nortel entered bankruptcy protection in January 2009.

Earlier this year, Nortel sold its CDMA and LTE Access carrier wireless division to Ericsson for $1.13 billion. In September, Avaya won the bidding for Nortel's enterprise solutions business for $900 million and $15 million for an employee retention program. In early October, Nortel confirmed the sale of its optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets to Ciena.