This is an e-mail message Nortel president and CEO Mike Zafirovski sent to employees June 19 to announce the Nokia Siemens deal:
It has been a long journey since our January 14 announcement [of bankruptcy protection]. Nortel has been battling against a tough marketplace and the effects of our filings for creditor protection. I want to thank you for your efforts to stabilize our business, preserve our customer relationships and face the task at hand with both a sense of reality and optimism.
You have driven hard and with a sense of urgency to close business and move this company forward under the harshest of circumstances. Your dedication and hard work have been inspiring.
Today, I want to share some news with you on Nortel’s and your future, to provide some clarity around our decision-making process and what lays ahead. As you know, evaluating our businesses to determine the ultimate path forward has been our most critical priority. On May 11, we said we were working to maximize the value of the company, while preserving our innovation platforms and employment to the greatest extent possible. We also said that we had been in discussions with external parties around a number of our businesses. I am pleased to announce that these discussions have progressed and that today we: