An auction to determine the final buyer of Nortel's Enterprise division will be held next week after at least two bids were submitted prior to a noon deadline to sell off the division.
Although there was no official word late Friday afternoon on how many bids were made for the division, a tech website called 'All About Nortel' says it's confirmed that a newly-formed Siemens business group has made an offer for the business unit.
The last-minute bid joins one made by Avaya worth $475 million, confirmed in a late Friday statement.
Matlin Patterson, a New York equity firm holding millions in Nortel debt bonds, was also expected to put in a bid but told CTV Ottawa they would not comment on the issue.
Enterprise employs more than 500 people in Ottawa and 300 in Belleville. An auction to determine the final buyer of the division will be held on Sept. 11.
Meantime, Nortel says it is continuing to talk to potential buyers interested in its other units.
As for the wireless division, which was purchased by Ericsson, the company told CTV they had no comment on what they are doing to prepare for the takeover.
The federal government also told CTV it would not comment on the state of any review of the deal and whether the government will get involved.
