Avaya gets EU green light for Nortel deal

Avaya looks set to be successful in its bid for a slice of Nortel

Business communications firm Avaya's proposed acquisition of Nortel's Enterprise Solutions business has been sanctioned by the European Union, paving the way for the $900m (£544m) deal to go ahead.

After an auction process in September, Avaya made the bid for ailing Canadian comms giant Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January and has been selling off pieces of its business ever since.

The European Commission said in a statement that the deal does not raise any "competition concerns" in the unified communications market or in the PBX and contact centre markets.

"The Commission's investigation revealed that the markets for PBXs and contact centres are very dynamic, and are moving to internet protocol-based technologies," read the statement.

"Post-merger, the combined entity would continue to face a number of strong and effective competitors, giving customers the choice from a range of alternative providers for PBXs and contact centres."

Presumably not wanting to tempt fate, Avaya is keeping tight lipped on the deal until it is officially completed but, with the EC following Canadian regulators in giving its assent, it seems increasingly likely that this will happen sooner rather than later.