Apple consortium wins Nortel patents with $4.5B bid
A consortium including Apple Inc, Microsoft, EMC Corp, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion bought bankrupt telecommunications gear maker Nortel Networks Corp’s remaining portfolio of 6000 patents for $4.5 billion, in an auction that began early this week.
RIM reportedly paid $770 million, Ericsson paid $340 million. It wasn’t immediately clear how much Apple paid.
Google had originally opened bidding with a $900 million bid. The consortium of strange bedfellows will split up the portfolio based on the split of the purchase price.
The sale is subject to Canadian and U.S. court approvals which will be sought at a joint hearing expected to be held on July 11. Full press release follows:
