DISQUS

protosphere · 11 months ago

" Nortel Networks Corp. has sought legal counsel to explore bankruptcy-court protection from creditors in the event that its restructuring plan fails, according to people familiar with the situation. The move comes as the Toronto-based company grapples with plummeting sales for its wireless gear and as the credit crunch hobbles the sale of key assets.

Ronald Alepian, a spokesman for Nortel, said that "no bankruptcy filing is imminent," but added that the company has engaged several advisers to help it chart a way forward. "We remain focused on carrying out the restructuring we outlined on Nov. 10 to cut costs,"

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This is not good news.

The trend already worsened while "remaining focused on carrying out the restructuring" for how long now...

Cuts were already no where near enough let alone now and they can not grow the business which now accelerates in decline.

Who are they kidding trying to downplay this like their past revisions that doubled, or their $20 buying opportunities Aug/07 as they claim they can survive for 12-18 months.

How can anyone realistically expect a turn around than folding for endless reasons?

I also totally disregard a thing Nortel says with their lacking transparency and zero credibility.

This is an expected heads up to their inevitable demise than any turnaround and I should not be surprised they didn't want their chronic rosy picture spoiled with this announcement. Albeit it may further dampen outlook given customers might go on strike all at once if they feel Nortel will not be around next year.

Enough with the cuts cuts cuts already, the CDMA decline alone would bury them in ideal conditions let alone now. They can't even afford more layoffs unable to sell MENs just to buy another day.

It's practically over and Nortel's relentless struggles to address the government to burn even more taxpayers money after already burning so many shareholders, are they serious?

If they do indeed fold as I fully expect, are all their numbers at least reliable enough to make proper bankruptcy application? Last I heard SEC finally monitored long extended repair.

OneOfTheFewLeft · 11 months ago

I can't help but feel that there is some legitimacy behind the story. If for no other reason that how quickly the corporate email went out saying how much of a rag WSJ is for trying to "break news" and admitting that they tried to convince them to pull the story.

stillatnortel · 11 months ago

I don't understand the point of this story. I would hope that Nortel is developing a plan for all cases, including not succeeding in a turnaround. Isn't that what they are supposed to do?

broadbandbill · 11 months ago

“Where there’s smoke there soon will be firemen and ambulances” – a Macedonian proverb…--bb

Desk Jockey · 11 months ago

This is indeed a sad day for Nortel. Unfortunately, those that were decried as "haters" have been proven again to be correct in their realist assumptions.

True, it's only expected that a company be considering all of its options (the smart thing to do) but the very fact that Nortel is exploring these options says a lot.

To those who say that this is yet another rumor or more "bashing" I say this: the WSJ is one of the most respected news organizations. Would they compromise their integrity over one story? I think not. And to those who criticize the "leak" of this story, I say this: Your anger is misdirected. It ought to be directed at the very management who has thrown the wool over your (and my) eyes for so long.

I have said it once, and I'll say it again: In the end, the truth, however unfortunate, always comes out.

BENHorn · 11 months ago

Why would Nortel be talking to the WSJ about bankrupcy anyways? Why "leak" more information. Why don't Nortel just annouce that everything is for sale this time; but announce it before they have a buyer....

Bo Gowan · 11 months ago

Hey Ben - WSJ came to Nortel with their story asking for comment, thus you see Ronald's statements in their article. WSJ was going to publish the story whether we commented or not.

Texan2 · 11 months ago

So, what is wrong for a company to prepare a Plan B or Plan C for that matter while staying the course on Plan A? Exploring the legalities surrounding bailout requests and bankruptcies (pre-packaged or otherwise) seems like a sensible thing to do even though nothing has fundamentally changed from the initial plan. Would WSJ rather that the company not be prepared for the eventuality should its original plan fail? That is what Governments do - as has been the case with the 700B strike that out 1 Trillion strike that out 4 Trillion strike that out bailout plan.

arthur_n82 · 11 months ago

YET ANOTHER PLOY TO SHORT THE STOCK AND MAKE SOME INVESTORS MONEY... Why don't people see that when rumors and innuendo are released, there is some joker at his PC ready to short the stock ?

Until a news filing titled "NORTEL FILES FOR BK PROTECTION" comes out, all this is simply BS and sadly too many idiots out there buy into it.