Nortel said to be touting core units

Embattled vendor wants to sell off its enterprise and wireless equipment businesses, according to reports

Zafirovski is set to unveil his plans in April or May

Nortel could be set to break itself up and sell off its two largest divisions, according to US reports yesterday.

The embattled communications vendor, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, recently agreed to sell its Alteon application delivery business to Radware.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, Nortel is now touting its core wireless equipment and enterprise units to industry big dogs such as Avaya and Siemens Enterprise Communications.

Chief executive Mike Zafirovski originally said he wanted the firm to emerge from bankruptcy protection as a "highly focused and financially sound communications leader".

But if Nortel were to sell off these arms, it would have little left in the way of core business, commentators said. Zafirovski is set to reveal his plans for the business in April or May.

Citing unnamed sources, the Journal said in its online edition last night: “Nortel has been able to attract interest in the sale of its core wireless-equipment business and a separate unit that builds telecom systems for offices, according to people familiar with the matter. These businesses posted $6.7bn in sales last year.”