TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 30, 2009) - Nortel(1) Networks
Corporation (OTCBB: NRTLQ) announced today that it, Nortel Networks
Limited ("NNL") and the other Canadian subsidiaries that filed for
creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
("CCAA") have obtained an order from the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice ("Canadian Court") further extending, to October 30, 2009,
the stay of proceedings that was previously granted by the Canadian
Court. The purpose of the stay of proceedings is to allow the Nortel
companies to continue to advance in discussions with interested
parties for the sale of its businesses, continue to assess other
restructuring alternatives if it is unable to maximize value through
sales and file a plan of arrangement.
About Nortel
Nortel delivers communications capabilities that make the promise of
Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next generation
technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks,
support multimedia and business critical applications. Nortel's
technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to
efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and
connecting people to the information they need, when they need it.
For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For
the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.
Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as
"could", "expects", "may", "should", "will", "anticipates",
"believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets", "envisions", "seeks"
and other similar language and are considered forward-looking
statements or information under applicable securities laws. These
statements are based on Nortel's current expectations, estimates,
forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies
and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to
important assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to
predict, and the actual outcome may be materially different. Further,
actual results or events could differ materially from those
contemplated in forward-looking statements as a result of the
following (i) risks and uncertainties relating to Nortel's Creditor
Protection Proceedings including: (a) risks associated with Nortel's
ability to: stabilize the business and maximize the value of its
businesses; obtain required approvals and successfully consummate
pending and future divestitures; successfully conclude ongoing
discussions for the sale of Nortel's other assets or businesses;
develop, obtain required approvals for, and implement a court
approved plan; resolve ongoing issues with creditors and other third
parties whose interests may differ from Nortel's; generate cash from
operations and maintain adequate cash on hand in each of its
jurisdictions to fund operations within the jurisdiction during the
Creditor Protection Proceedings; access the EDC Facility given the
current discretionary nature of the facility, or arrange for
alternative funding; if necessary, arrange for sufficient debtor-in-
possession or other financing; continue to have cash management
arrangements and obtain any further required approvals from the
Canadian Monitor, the U.K. Joint Administrators, the French
Administrator, the Israeli Joint Administrators, the U.S. Creditors'
Committee, or other third parties; raise capital to satisfy claims,
including Nortel's ability to sell assets to satisfy claims against
us; maintain R&D investments; realize full or fair value for any
assets or business that are divested; utilize net operating loss
carryforwards and certain other tax attributes in the future; avoid
the substantive consolidation of NNI's assets and liabilities with
those of one or more other U.S. Debtors; attract and retain customers
or avoid reduction in, or delay or suspension of, customer orders as
a result of the uncertainty caused by the Creditor Protection
Proceedings; maintain market share, as competitors move to capitalize
on customer concerns; operate Nortel's business effectively in
consultation with the Canadian Monitor, and work effectively with the
U.K. Joint Administrators, French Administrator and Israeli Joint
Administrators in their respective Administration of the EMEA
businesses subject to the Creditor Protection Proceedings; actively
and adequately communicate on and respond to events, media and rumors
associated with the Creditor Protection Proceedings that could
adversely affect Nortel's relationships with customers, suppliers,
partners and employees; retain and incentivize key employees and
attract new employees, as may be needed; retain, or if necessary,
replace major suppliers on acceptable terms and avoid disruptions in
Nortel's supply chain; maintain current relationships with reseller
partners, joint venture partners and strategic alliance partners;
obtain court orders or approvals with respect to motions filed from
time to time; resolve claims made against Nortel in connection with
the Creditor Protection Proceedings for amounts not exceeding
Nortel's recorded liabilities subject to compromise; prevent third
parties from obtaining court orders or approvals that are contrary to
Nortel's interests; reject, repudiate or terminate contracts; and (b)
risks and uncertainties associated with: limitations on actions
against any Debtor during the Creditor Protection Proceedings; the
values, if any, that will be prescribed pursuant to any restructuring
plan to outstanding Nortel securities and, in particular, that Nortel
does not expect that any value will be prescribed to the NNC common
shares or the NNL preferred shares in any such plan; the delisting of
NNC common shares from the NYSE; and the delisting of NNC common
shares and NNL preferred shares from the TSX; and (ii) risks and
uncertainties relating to Nortel's business including: the sustained
economic downturn and volatile market conditions and resulting
negative impact on Nortel's business, results of operations and
financial position and its ability to accurately forecast its results
and cash position; cautious capital spending by customers as a result
of factors including current economic uncertainties; fluctuations in
foreign currency exchange rates; any requirement to make larger
contributions to defined benefit plans in the future; a high level of
debt, arduous or restrictive terms and conditions related to
accessing certain sources of funding; the sufficiency of workforce
and cost reduction initiatives; any negative developments associated
with Nortel's suppliers and contract manufacturers including Nortel's
reliance on certain suppliers for key optical networking solutions
components and on one supplier for most of its manufacturing and
design functions; potential penalties, damages or cancelled customer
contracts from failure to meet contractual obligations including
delivery and installation deadlines and any defects or errors in
Nortel's current or planned products; significant competition,
competitive pricing practices, industry consolidation, rapidly
changing technologies, evolving industry standards, frequent new
product introductions and short product life cycles, and other trends
and industry characteristics affecting the telecommunications
industry; any material, adverse affects on Nortel's performance if
its expectations regarding market demand for particular products
prove to be wrong; potential higher operational and financial risks
associated with Nortel's international operations; a failure to
protect Nortel's intellectual property rights; any adverse legal
judgments, fines, penalties or settlements related to any significant
pending or future litigation actions; failure to maintain integrity
of Nortel's information systems; changes in regulation of the
Internet or other regulatory changes; and Nortel's potential
inability to maintain an effective risk management strategy.
For additional information with respect to certain of these and other
factors, see Nortel's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended March 31, 2009 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2008 and other securities filings with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless otherwise required
by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(1)Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel
Networks.
Contacts:
Nortel
Media
Jay Barta
(972) 685-2381
jbarta@nortel.com
Nortel
Investors
(888) 901-7286 or (905) 863-6049
investor@nortel.com
www.nortel.com
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