The potential new owner of Nortel Networks' wireless operation says while most Ottawa employees will be offered jobs, the exact role of Ottawa's research labs remains unclear.

Swedish wireless giant LM Ericsson has agreed to pay US$1.13 billion for Nortel's North American wireless operations. Many believe the unit's labs in Ottawa are key to the next generation of wireless communication gear called long-term evolution, or LTE.

Ericsson's incoming chief executive officer, Hans Vestberg, who currently serves as the company's chief financial officer, said he plans to ask the Canadian government for financial help and hopes to close the deal within the next few months.

While there are no job guarantees included in the deal, Vestberg suggested the company doesn't have any immediate plans to restructure the division or cut jobs.

The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval in Canada and the United States, as well as government regulatory bodies in both countries.

During a conference call on Monday, Vestberg confirmed there aren't plans to merge Ottawa's labs with those in Montreal.

"As for Ottawa, we will keep it. It's very important for us. In any business you operate, you want to grow it. And so if we find opportunities, if we do that, then we will continue," said Vestberg.

Assuming the pension liability of Nortel workers, however, is not something that is part of the deal, he said.

Changes to staff will likely begin once the deal closes. Vestberg said he expects to keep the "good" Nortel managers and bring in some Ericsson people.

Ontario calls for feds to stop sale

However, the province is now pushing the federal government to step in and stop Nortel's technology from being sold to a foreign company.

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan argued that taxpayers helped fund the research that led to Nortel's success in wireless technology, and the technology should stay in Canada.

Duncan said he wants the federal government to try to block the deal with Ericsson, and help broker a deal with Research in Motion, or another Canadian firm, that would commit to keeping technology and development jobs in Canada.

"We'd like to see (the federal government) aggressively work with any Canadian company to keep that technology in our hands and particularly the job-creating potential here in Ontario," said Duncan.

"Governments at both the federal and provincial governments over the years have provided very generous research and development tax incentives, so Canadian and Ontario taxpayers have a real vested interest in this."

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement said Monday that he's "not in a position to prejudge the issue." However, he said the government hasn't ruled out intervening in Nortel's sale.

The Nortel acquisition will give Ericsson about 14,000 employees in North America and expected revenues of about $5 billion per year.

As for RIM, which still might try to get in on the deal somehow; Vestberg said he is not worried.

Although RIM made an informal $1.1-billion bid for Nortel, it did not participate in the company's auction on Friday, which Ericsson won.

On Sunday, RIM issued a statement saying the company had not given up on acquiring Nortel's assets and wireless patents. The company also called for the federal government to intervene.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Paul Brent and files from The Canadian Press