A Nortel executive has confirmed that the company will “seriously” consider auctioning off its business segments as the infrastructure manufacturer attempts to emerge from bankruptcy, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Bruce Gustafson, vice president of strategic marketing for the carrier networks unit, told Bloomberg that Nortel is “obligated” to extract the most value from its assets during the company’s reorganization process: “We will go through the process of having those discussions.”
Nortel spokesperson Mohammed Nakhooda said the company would not comment on market rumors and speculation and suggested that Gustafson’s quotes may have been taken out of context.
Last month, anonymous sources leaked information that Nortel was in talks to auction off its businesses, suggesting the company would not emerge from bankruptcy as planned.
Nortel lost nearly $7 billion over the past two years as the worldwide economic crisis ate into revenue and an uptick in competition knocked down sales. The company posted a net loss of $2.13 billion in the quarter before it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The company is expected to announce a reorganization strategy in early May.
