Swedish wireless equipment maker Ericsson has won an auction of the wireless assets of Nortel Networks by agreeing to pay US$1.13 billion for the Canadian company's CDMA business, making rival Nokia to leave the arena.

Speaking on the rumors that Ericsson would part with Sony, Ericsson's CFO Hans Vestberg said the company would not end its joint venture with Sony.

It should be noted here that in June the Nortel accepted $650 million offer from Nokia Siemens but gradually other companies made higher bids.

Ericsson, which entered late to the bidding process, will offer employment to the minimum of 2,500 workers in the acquired unit.

Research in Motion, manufacturer of BlackBerry was also ready to make an offer valued at $1.1 billion, but was barred from bidding after some dispute with Nortel.

The deal is yet to get court approval in the US and Canada.