Ericsson has agreed to pay US$50 million for certain assets of the Guangdong Nortel Telecommunication Equipment Company (GDNT). GDNT, which has R&D, manufacturing and services operations, has become an important supplier to Ericsson following the Swedish vendor’s earlier acquisitions of the CDMA and GSM businesses of Nortel. Approximately 1,100 employees, including roughly 550 R&D engineers, will join Ericsson following the deal. “The acquisition greatly complements our existing R&D, manufacturing and services capabilities in the region,” said Mats H Olsson, President of Ericsson China & North East Asia. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. GDNT started in 1995 as a joint venture between Nortel and Chinese companies and telecoms operators.

Ericsson is making a habit of acquiring Nortel’s assets. Among the Swedish vendor’s recent purchases are the Canadian vendor’s CDMA and LTE unit, a deal announced last year. It also purchased Nortel’s stake in a Nortel joint venture in Korea earlier this year and at the end of September the Swedish vendor acquired Nortel’s multiservice switch unit.