Nortel patent sale raises US$4.5 billion

Nortel has concluded the auction of its patent portfolio and raised US$4.5 billion from the bidders, considerably higher than the initial offer of US$950 million from Google.

The winning consortium consists of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony.

In a separate statement, RIM said that its portion of the purchase consideration is approximately USD$770 million.

The Nortel patent portfolio comprises approximately 6,000 ICT patents and patent applications, including telecommunications, Internet search and social networking. It covers mobile, LTE and data networking as well as optical, Internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios.

“Following a very robust auction, we are pleased at its outcome of this extensive patent portfolio”, said George Riedel, chief strategy officer and president of business units, Nortel. “The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world.”

The battle for the patent portfolio intensified in recent weeks, with concerns about Apple’s intention in bidding for the patents being raised in light of its recent patent fights with other handset manufacturers.

The auction also highlighted issues with patent trolls and the use of patents as tools to stifle competition – the issue initially raised by Google when it said it was bidding for the patents in order to protect itself from future lawsuits.