Ericsson is reported to be mulling a bid for the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks, meaning at least four companies will be involved in the process. According to Bloomberg, Ericsson has also approached Google, Microsoft and Intel about making a joint bid for the portfolio – Google was previously named the “stalking horse” bidder in the process. Ericsson has already acquired a number of assets from Nortel, as the Canadian company was broken up following its bankruptcy.