Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecommunications equipment manufacturer operating under bankruptcy court protection, is in advanced negotiations with potential buyers for its main business operations and is likely to announce further asset sales in “weeks or months, rather than months or years,” Mike Zafirovski, chief executive, said on Sunday.

Mr Zafirovski, speaking after the company announced late on Friday that it plans to sell its core profitable CDMA and LTE wireless infrastructure business to Nokia Siemens Networks for $650m, also expressed confidence that an “orderly sale” of Nortel’s businesses was a better and more realistic option for all stakeholders than attempting to reorganise the 127-year old company so that it could emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.