Nortel confirms desire to exit LG joint venture

Nortel Networks confirmed it is shopping for a buyer for its majority stake in LG-Nortel, its joint venture with LG Electronics. The confirmation came after a report in the Financial Times last month that the bankrupt company was looking for a way out of the joint venture, and had hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for its stake. At the time, both Goldman and Nortel declined to comment. 

"LG-Nortel is a successful business with an accomplished leadership team, a culture of innovation, a dedicated employee base and a drive to succeed," Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski said in a statement.  "As we work to evaluate the ultimate path forward for all of our businesses, this decision will allow LG-Nortel to embark on the next phase of its journey and realize its full potential."

LG said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg News that it had not made a decision regarding its continued participation in the joint venture. LG-Nortel was formed in 2005 and had revenues last year of around $1 billion.

In other news related to Nortel's restructuring, the company received court approval in France to sell its French research and development unit, despite objections from the local management and employees.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Bloomberg News article
- see this Bloomberg News article on the French unit

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