Nortel blocking RIM from buying wireless Nortel Assets

Waterloo-based Research In Motion (RIM) is looking to acquire Nortel’s CDMA and Long Term Evolution Access businesses, among other assets, for $1.1 billion.

Now, RIM is publicly accusing Nortel for intentionally blocking its acquisition bids mainly because RIM wants to buy additional Nortel assets.

 RIM said today in a statement, “Nortel, its advisors and its court-appointed monitor have rejected RIM’s repeated attempts to engage in meaningful discussions,”

RIM today called on the Canadian federal government to review the process, and said in a statement it believes if the units are sold to a non-Canadian firm, it could “adversely affect national interests, with potential national security implications.”

RIM believes Nortel’s assets should remain in Canada and should be sold to a Canadian firm.

Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement said today during an event at the University of Calgary, “My officials and I are following this closely,”

Ottawa is urging both companies to meet and engage in meaningful discussions.

Nortel maintains it “has diligently attempted to work with RIM on acceptable confidentiality terms relating to Nortel’s valuable intellectual property assets, but RIM refused to comply with the court approved procedures,”

The now current contender to purchase the Nortel units is Nortel Siemens Networks for $650 million.

We firstly reported on June 20, 2009 that Nokia would buy the wireless research unit when Nortel firstly announced it would liquidate.

RIM wants to buy the Nortel units not because it wants to build a wireless network in the future, rather to gain the important intellectual property rights due to significant fees RIM pays to license the technologies in its BlackBerry handsets.

RIM currently does not have any current patents relating to those technologies simply because the company never created the wireless technologies.