Nortel Edges Closer to Delisting

Beleaguered telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks(NT) has been threatened with delisting from the NYSE unless its boosts its share price.

The Toronto company confirmed Thursday that it received the NYSE notice after its average closing price slipped below $1 a share for 30 consecutive trading days. Under NYSE rules, the firm now has six months to bring its average share price back above $1 a share.

"Nortel will notify the NYSE within the required ten business day period that it intends to cure deficiency," the company wrote, in a statement.

If the company's average closing price does not sufficiently improve, Nortel may propose consolidating shares at its annual general meeting in spring 2009, it added.

Nortel shares were down 1 cent, or 2.5% to 39 cents in Thursday trading.

The company, shares of which haven't closed at more than $1 since Nov. 7, has recently been grappling with plummeting sales for its wireless gear and as the credit crunch hobbles the sale of key assets.

Nortel, which competes with Cisco(CSCO), Alcatel-Lucent(ALU), and Motorola(MOT), posted a $3.4 billion loss in its recent third-quarter results. Revenue fell 14% to $2.32 billion, and the company said it plans to cut 1,300 jobs in an attempt to boost its business.

Nortel also has sought legal counsel to explore bankruptcy-court protection from creditors in the event that its restructuring plan fails, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

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