Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) said it completed its $242 million acquisition of Nortel Networks' stake in Nortel's networking joint venture with LG Electronics, LG-Nortel.
The close of the deal, which was initially announced in April, cements Ericsson's position as the leading beneficiary of Nortel's decision to sell off its assets rather than restructure in bankruptcy. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Ericsson's earnings in a year, and expands the Swedish company's presence in South Korea.
Nortel, which entered bankruptcy protection in the United States and Canada in January 2009, confirmed last year it was looking to sell its stake in the joint venture, which was formed in 2005. In 2009, LG-Nortel had 1,300 employees and around $650 million in sales.
The deal adds to Ericsson's collection of Nortel's assets; Ericsson purchased Nortel's CDMA and LTE assets for $1.13 billion last year, and also scooped up the company's North American GSM business. The Canadian equipment vendor began its liquidation last year.
For more:
- see this release
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