The Globe and Mail in Canada reports that executives at Nortel Networks were finalizing details on thousands of dollars worth of rooms at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
Nortel had booked 722 room nights for the CTIA trade show that runs from April 1 to 3.
According to court filings obtained by the Globe, Nortel planned to send at least 180 people to the convention. One of the rooms booked was the hotel's Palace Tower Senators Suite, for four nights at $2,300 a night.
Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in January and has since changed its plans for the show. Lawyers representing Nortel filed a motion in a U.S. bankruptcy court this week asking a judge to cancel the hotel contract, saying the company booked too many rooms and agreed to pay too much.
The company now expects to send about 60 people to CTIA Wireless 2009 and they won't be staying in the same rooms - or renting the suite.
This morning, Nortel’s stock was trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange for just under 10 Canadian cents per share. The company’s 52-week high was back in June, when shares were trading at just over $10 per share.