Ericsson has snagged Nortel’s North American GSM assets for $70 million in cash. The news comes just months after it snagged a deal to buy Nortel’s CDMA/LTE assets for $1.13 billion, outbidding rival infrastructure provider Nokia Siemens Networks.
"Along with our recent acquisition of Nortel's CDMA and LTE assets, the transaction emphasizes Ericsson's commitment to the North American market and strengthens our position as a leading provider of telecommunications technology and services in the United States and Canada" said Hans Vestberg, incoming President and CEO of Ericsson, in a statement.
Nortel’s GSM assets in other regions will be acquired by Kapsch CarrierCom AG of Austria, who will pay $33 million for the remaining assets outside North America.
The acquisition of Nortel’s GSM assets includes the transfer of deals with carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile, both of whom operate on GSM technology.
Together with its earlier purchase of Nortel’s CDMA and LTE assets and its outsourcing deal with Sprint, the acquisition of Nortel’s GSM technology makes North America Ericsson’s largest market.
The company now has 14,500 employees throughout the U.S. and Canada, compared to just 5,000 at the beginning of 2009. As part of today’s deal, Ericsson will offer employment to about 350 Nortel employees.