Bermuda

Bankrupt Canadian telecommunications provider Nortel Networks Corp. has tapped Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to assist in the sale of its global Enterprise Solutions business to Avaya Inc. for $475 million, as the company continues to unload assets, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

Herbert Smith has won the lead role on the administration of the UK subsidiary of telecoms manufacturer Nortel, a deal which will see the UK firm representing the company throughout 18 jurisdictions, Legal Week reported. The firm was appointed by administrators Ernst & Young after it had been advising Nortel on pre-administration matters. The administration order includes entities from across Europe and the Middle East, including France, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

Nortel Networks Corp., North America’s biggest maker of phone equipment, plunged in European trading after the Globe and Mail reported the company will file for bankruptcy protection as early as today. The board met last night to deal with “a financial crisis,” the newspaper reported, citing people working with Nortel and its creditors. Nortel will file in Toronto and an undisclosed U.S. location, the Globe and Mail reported. The company faces a $107 million interest payment tomorrow, the newspaper said. David Silke, a Nortel spokesman in Ireland, didn’t immediately return a call for comment.