Bankrupt Nortel which was lying low for some time has suddenly assumed attention of industry players. Sensing a strong opportunity, Swedish telecom vendor, Ericsson too threw its hat in the ring to acquire the Canadian firm.

Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that Ericsson has bid $ 730 million to acquire assets of Nortel and the bid has been accepted by Nortel. The bid amount surpasses the $ 650 million offered by Nokia Siemens Networks.

"We always look at opportunities that can be of interest for Ericsson and create value for us, and we participate in this process to the point it makes sense," said Ase Lindskog, spokeswoman at Ericsson, to Reuters, virtually confirming the move.

NSN’s only advantage now is that it has exclusive rights to increase its bid to match the highest bidder. “We''re assessing on our end, but feel that our bid is in the best interest of Nortel's employees and customers and Canada … We're also ready to move quickly in closing and executing with this deal, which is important for these assets,” said NSN spokesperson, Chantal Boeckman to Globe and Mail.

Ericsson’s bid is also higher than the $ 725 million offered by New York-based MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, a private equity fund and a Nortel creditor.

Earlier, RIM alleged that Nortel rejected its $ 1.1 billion bid on flimsy grounds.