this is nothing more than a cash grab. old debt has to be retired. but rather than pay it down it is about taking debt in fact increasing the debt portion by 175 million. an old proverb comes to mind – rob peter to pay paul. look at the net cash. this pig is losing 300 million a year. look at net cash flows and total accumalated debt then come back with your stupid rants. its buried in debt and very soon this pig is going to be on somebodys table ready to be carved up.

this is nothing more than a cash grab. old debt has to be retired. but rather than pay it down it is about taking debt in fact increasing the debt portion by 175 million. an old proverb comes to mind – rob peter to pay paul. look at the net cash. this pig is losing 300 million a year. look at net cash flows and total accumalated debt then come back with your stupid rants. its buried in debt and very soon this pig is going to be on somebodys table ready to be carved up.

Unlike heathy companies with a sound business plan, Nortel's executive leadership doesn't have the option of opting for an equity offering since at today's share price and avg volume, it would require aprox. 13 trading days with all else being constant…certainly, it is cheaper to pay the piper 10.75% than to see Nortel's share price swoon 35% from so many shares hitting the market right before those from the class-action settlement next month..

And yet, the most amazing part is that institutional buyers will pony up the money..

My advice: Get a life. Do you do shots of vodka and then post? Go ahead and short the stock or sell your stock and get on with life. Whatever you do, consider contributing some verifiable facts rather than the constant idiotic rants.

Another way of looking at it is that NT does not have the confidence in their own operational activities to just retire that debt due in Sep this year,why?

They have a little over $3 Billion in cash,so even if they pay down this upcoming debt,it still leaves them with over $2.5 billion in cash and considering that MZ stated that they will generate cash in a meaningful way in 2009,then why are they afraid to pay down this debt?

Not to mention a savings of $72 million a year in interest or about .15 cents/share- this alone would be good for $3 added on to the current shareprice or an increase market cap of $1.5 billion.

I personally don't understand this logic whether it is coming from Z, or Pavi or the BOD, if they did go ahead and pay down that debt,it sends the market a message that they have confidence in their ongoing business transformation plan and would possibly result in an increase in shareprice from current levels- something that Z had so distinctly pointed out,so what gives?

If they had decided to pay down this debt,leaving them with a smaller cash balance and would later find themselves looking at a possible acquisition down the road then they couild always do a note offering then,and quite possibly under more favourable terms as the credit markets are expected to gradually increase from this point on.

Furhrmore I fiind the S&P timing of their “outlook” on NT suspect as well as NT themself reaffirming their 2008 outlook simultaneously as the notes offering.

I have been a longtime shareholder and have lost a ton of money on this company and with these latest anouncements I don't see any improvement on the transparency of their activities as MZ has promised from day 1.

MZ- actions speak louder than words,if you really mean what you say about NT generating cash in a meaningful way in 2009 then I don't see why a cash balance of $2.5 billion after paying down this upcoming debt would not be a comfortable level considering there would be only 2 quarters short of 2009 – the year in which the company is supposed to start generating cash in a meaningful way according to you.

the only other possible thing that makes sense is that NT is cuurently working on a potential acquisition and want to reassure the acquiree that cash will be a big part of this purchase.

Step up to plate whoever- I 've been a shareholder too long to know that this arrangement isn't logical unless of coarse there really is a looming acquisition on the horizon.