Google has emerged as the stalking-horse bidder for Nortel Networks Ltd.'s patent and patent application portfolio with a bid of $900 million in cash for these assets, the companies announced on Monday.

The news that Nortel has chosen Google's $900 million cash bid in a stalking-horse agreement starts the procedure for what will be the Canadian vendor's final asset auction.

Nortel said it will file the stalking-horse asset sale agreement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware as well as a motion for an auction, which it expects to be held in June 2011. Google's $900 million bid is the offer that other companies would have to beat in the auction.

Nortel's patent portfolio includes about 6,000 patents and patent applications covering "wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios," according to a Nortel press release, which also claims that the portfolio "touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking."

Google, along with Apple Inc., was reportedly eyeing the bankrupt Canadian vendor's patents at the end of last year. (See Rumor: Apple, Google Eye Nortel Patents .)

Kent Walker, Google's senior vice president and general counsel, wrote on the company's corporate blog today:

Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories. ... So after a lot of thought, we’ve decided to bid for Nortel’s patent portfolio in the company’s bankruptcy auction. Today, Nortel selected our bid as the 'stalking-horse bid,' which is the starting point against which others will bid prior to the auction. If successful, we hope this portfolio will not only create a disincentive for others to sue Google, but also help us, our partners and the open source community-- which is integrally involved in projects like Android and Chrome -- continue to innovate.

Why this matters
Nortel's patent portfolio has been one of the most eagerly anticipated asset sales from the bankrupt vendor. As such, bidding in the upcoming auction in June is likely to be fierce. (See Nortel Patents Sale's Pending.)

Google's interest is clear: The Internet search giant needs to beef up its patent position, and Nortel's portfolio would give the company a boost here.

Other vendors that have been reported as prospective bidders for Nortel's patents include Apple, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Motorola Inc., Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and ZTE Corp., as well as Intellectual Ventures Management LLC, Interdigital and RPX Corp.

For more
Nortel's patent portfolio is the last major asset the vendor has to sell.

• Rumor: Nortel Seeks Bids for Its Patents
• Who's Really Sitting on an LTE Goldmine?
• RIM CEO Calls Nortel LTE Patents a 'National Treasure'
• Nortel's LTE Patent Goldmine
• The LTE Scraps From Nortel's Table
• Nortel: What's Left on the Shelf?
• Nortel Could Sell LTE Patents Separately
• Nortel Hangs On to Its LTE Smarts
• Nortel Preserves Patent Plan
• Nortel Wireless Winner: It's Ericsson!

— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile