Genband Took Nortel’s Carrier VoIP Without a Fight

In December, Genband became the stalking horse bidder for Nortel’s carrier VoIP business with a bid of $282M.  But there was still the auction yet to go, right?  It seemed quite likely, but apparently not.  Nobody else stepped forward with a better bid, and thus Genband won without a fight.  The final price was $282M, and after the obligatory regulatory and court approval process it will all be over.  Genband looks like a good fit for these assets, but we’ll have to take a closer look after the combined company emerges.

Having finally finished dismantling Nortel, the industry will be spending a fair amount of its effort this year integrating the assets.  Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings) looks to have the most work to do relative to its size, no doubt that is where the market will be focusing its, err, helpful critical eyes.

ConnectedPlanet notes that this probably means the end of the Nortel brand name, as none of the buyers of its assets decided to buy it.   Hmmm, does one year of hell doom such a longstanding brand name to eternal purgatory?  I’ll bet it resurfaces in a few years somewhere…

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · Telecom Equipment