Nortel Completes $4.5 Billion Sale of Patent Portfolio

July 30, 2011

Nortel Networks Corp. completed their $4.5 billion sale of its patent portfolio to a consortium of buyers that includes Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), the company said Friday.Nortel has said the portfolio, which includes more than 6,000 patents and patent applications, "touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets ... including Internet search and social networking."They are among the last major assets of Toronto-based Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. Since then, it has been selling off its operations in pieces.