Ericsson to acquire majority of Nortel's North American wireless business

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has today entered into an asset purchase
agreement to acquire the parts of the Carrier Networks division of
Nortel relating to CDMA and LTE technology in North America. The
purchase is structured as an asset sale at a cash purchase price of
USD 1.13 b. on a cash and debt free basis. This announcement follows
the completion of the auction process initiated by Nortel, and the
transaction is subject to court and customary regulatory approvals.

Ericsson acquires an installed base and a healthy business that
provides major operators CDMA technology and support services. In
addition, the acquisition strengthens Ericsson's ability to serve
North America's leading wireless operators in the evolution to LTE.
The acquisition significantly expands Ericsson's footprint in North
America, particularly as this region is emerging as an early adopter
of LTE technology. The acquisition also provides Nortel's customers
with a strong and reliable supplier for the future, many of which
have expressed support for this acquisition.

"Acquiring Nortel's North American CDMA business allows us to serve
this important region better as we build relationships for the future
migration to LTE. Furthermore, by adding some 2,500 highly skilled
employees, of which about 400 are focused on LTE research and
development, Ericsson reinforces and expands a long-term commitment
to North America. This deal, along with our recently announced Sprint
service agreement, truly positions Ericsson as a leading telecoms
supplier in North America," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and
CEO of Ericsson.

The agreement includes important CDMA contracts with North American
operators such as Verizon, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Bell Canada and
Leap, as well as LTE assets, certain patents and patent licenses
relating to CDMA and LTE. Nortel's customers will also benefit from
the continued support of Nortel's installed CDMA base and the
migration path to LTE.

Nortel's North American CDMA operations generated approximately USD
2.0 b. in 2008, with robust profitability from a good product mix,
which includes a significant amount of services. Going forward,
research and development costs are expected to be relatively low in
CDMA compared with other technologies.

Ericsson's North American business generated SEK 17.9 (USD 2.7) b. of
sales in 2008, mainly from GSM and WCDMA equipment and associated
services. When coupled with the recently announced Sprint services
agreement, this acquisition makes North America the largest region
within Ericsson and encompasses some 14,000 employees.

The robust financial profile of the acquired operations will
contribute significant top- and bottom-line additions to Ericsson.
The transaction is expected to have a positive effect on Ericsson's
earnings within a year after closing. Magnus Mandersson, presently
head of Ericsson Northern Europe, is appointed President of Ericsson
CDMA operations, and Richard Lowe, Nortel, is appointed Chief
Operating Officer.

"Our two companies share a long-standing commitment to technological
excellence and innovation, and we look forward to welcoming the
Nortel employees into Ericsson.  We are truly impressed with their
continuing outstanding performance during these challenging times,"
said Magnus Mandersson, President of Ericsson CDMA operations.

"The agreement with Ericsson provides a strong and stable future for
Nortel's CDMA and LTE business. Customers will enjoy continued strong
support from an industry leader as they look to evolve to LTE. Many
employees will also have the opportunity to continue their work with
Ericsson, bringing their innovation power and creativity to the
wireless industry for years to come," said Richard Lowe, President of
Carrier Networks at Nortel.

Consummation of the transaction is subject to approval by the United
States and Canadian Bankruptcy Courts and the satisfaction of
regulatory and other conditions.

SEB Enskilda is acting as Ericsson's sole financial advisor in the
transaction.

Notes to editors:
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Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services
to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile
technologies, and provides support for networks with over 1 billion
subscribers and has a leading position in managed services. The
company's portfolio comprises of mobile and fixed network
infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia
solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony
Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with
feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision "to be the prime driver in an
all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and
sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than
75,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 209 billion (USD 32.2
billion) in 2008. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm,
Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New
York.

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Ericsson discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the
Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act.
The information was submitted for publication at on July 25 2009,
06.00 CET.