Nortel Assets Still in Nokia Siemens Sights

Nokia Siemens Networks’ COO, Mika Vehvilainen, told reporters in Beijing Tuesday the company – a joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Siemens AG (SI) – definitely is interested in buying parts of bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp. (NT).

Last month, Nokia Siemens reportedly made unsolicited bids for some Nortel assets – the CDMA group and the carrier networks division in particular.

It’s still unclear whether the insolvent Nortel will emerge from bankruptcy in one piece or whether it will sell itself unit by unit. If it does the latter, Nokia Siemens is a very prospective buyer, Vehvilainen confirmed on May 19, although he did not say whether Nokia Siemens is eyeing the same assets for which it’s supposedly bid.

Nortel, for its part, remains coy about its plans. CEO Mike Zafirovski recently said discussions “are taking place with various external parties, however, decisions have not been taken and we continue to evaluate our restructuring alternatives.”

In the meantime, Nortel also continues to make deals with companies around the globe, activity that seems to point to the company’s confidence in its future.