Parsing Words in the Tussle Over Nortel
Here is a good rule of thumb in M&A: Be careful what you say in public.
The joint venture Nokia Siemens (NOK) appears to be learning this lesson the hard way this week, after its North American Operations president, Sue Spradley, was quoted as saying it would be interested in buying “other” assets of Toronto telecommunications-gear maker Nortel (NT) Networks, which filed for bankruptcy-law protection in January.
“If other assets come on to the market, we will look at each one for their value and if there is something there, we will do a deal,” Spradley said at an Economic Club of Canada luncheon this week, according to the Canadian Financial Post.
