Nortel

About Nortel

Nortel Networks filed for bankruptcy protection on January 14, 2009. At its peak in 2000, Nortel was worth 398 billion CAD and represented 36 percent of the TSX composite index. The company was a telecom equipment leader. The dot-com crash devastated Nortel. Accounting scandals involving revenue recognition and earnings management further damaged the company. CEO John Roth retired in 2001. CEO Frank Dunn was fired in 2004. Dunn and other executives were charged with fraud but acquitted. Nortel sold its patents for 4.5 billion to a consortium including Apple, Microsoft, and Sony in 2011. The Nortel bankruptcy estate spent over a decade distributing assets to creditors. The collapse destroyed the retirement savings of many Canadian workers.