According to a South Korean newspaper, the potential bidders for Nortel’s 50% + 1 stake in the Nortel-LG joint venture include Sony Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent, a private equity arm of J.P. Morgan, and South Korean investment firm SkyLake Incuvest.
Reuters reported that LG Electronics wants to keep its stake in the joint venture, which was created in 2005 and has been one of Nortel’s few good news stories.
Sony Ericsson denied its interest in Nortel’s stake in the joint venture. “It’s definitely not us. There must be some kind of confusion. I’m sure if it’s something of that importance, I would know about it”, Aldo Liguori, Corporate Vice President Global Communications, told Reuters.
The apparent interest by the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan is interesting as it may suggest that private equity investments are starting to gather momentum after being waylayed by the economic downturn.
In a blog post, No Jitter said the return of private equity into the M&A market was evident by the investments made by two Silver Lake Partners and Index Venture in the $2.75-billion purchase of a 65% stake in Skype yesterday.
“Does the Skype deal signify a return of private equity to an aggressive role in the communications business?,” No Jitter’s Eric Krapf asked.
Suitors Lining Up for LG-Nortel
According to a South Korean newspaper, the potential bidders for Nortel’s 50% + 1 stake in the Nortel-LG joint venture include Sony Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent, a private equity arm of J.P. Morgan, and South Korean investment firm SkyLake Incuvest.
Reuters reported that LG Electronics wants to keep its stake in the joint venture, which was created in 2005 and has been one of Nortel’s few good news stories.
Sony Ericsson denied its interest in Nortel’s stake in the joint venture. “It’s definitely not us. There must be some kind of confusion. I’m sure if it’s something of that importance, I would know about it”, Aldo Liguori, Corporate Vice President Global Communications, told Reuters.
The apparent interest by the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan is interesting as it may suggest that private equity investments are starting to gather momentum after being waylayed by the economic downturn.
In a blog post, No Jitter said the return of private equity into the M&A market was evident by the investments made by two Silver Lake Partners and Index Venture in the $2.75-billion purchase of a 65% stake in Skype yesterday.
“Does the Skype deal signify a return of private equity to an aggressive role in the communications business?,” No Jitter’s Eric Krapf asked.