Siemens SEN says eyeing parts of Nortel

By Jens Hack

MUNICH (Reuters) - Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN), a joint venture between Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and U.S. financial investor Gores Group, is looking into buying parts of bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp (NT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), the head of SEN said.

"The enterprise client unit is interesting. We are looking into that," SEN's chief executive James O'Neill told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the unit's business with the U.S. government was particularly appealing.

SEN, which is present in Europe and Asia, is trying to gain a foothold in U.S. markets even if the Nortel deal does not work out, O'Neill added.

Nortel's enterprise unit is estimated to have a volume of about $2 billion.

Nortel, once the largest North American maker of telecommunications gear, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. federal court and for creditor protection in Canada's Ontario Superior Court of Justice in January.

Nortel Chief Executive Mike Yafirovski confirmed on Monday that the company has held talks with suitors regarding possible asset sales, but declined to go into detail.

Nortel reported a 37 percent slide in its first-quarter revenue this week, blaming the weak economy and its bankruptcy filing, which rattled the confidence of some customers.

SEN, which specializes in communications systems for large corporations, had revenues of around 3.2 billion euros ($3.14 billion) in its fiscal year ending September 2008.