Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    OTTAWA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Once Canada's telecommunications equipment giant, Nortel Networks now face the possibility of breaking apart rather than emerging from bankruptcy restructuring as planned, local media reported Thursday.

    The prediction followed news that the company is selling two important divisions, its core wireless-equipment business and a separate unit that builds telecom systems for offices.

    These businesses posted 6.7 billion Canadian dollars (about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars) in sales last year.

    Several competitors have expressed interest in buying Nortel's enterprise unit, which makes communications networks for corporations, the media quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying.

    Potential buyers included Avaya and Siemens Enterprise Communications, according to the people familiar with the matter.

    Cisco Systems looked at the unit as well but is not expected to bid, the Journal sources said.

    Nortel also is in talks to sell the unit that sells wireless voice gear to rivals, including Nokia-Siemens Networks, which long has sought to expand in the United States.

    Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in January in Canada and the United States and expects to outline its restructuring plan publicly in April or May.

    Nortel has declined to comment on the report.