Avaya Inc is not the sole bidder for the Nortel Networks Corp business that builds networks for large corporate clients, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker said on Friday.

In late July, Nortel said New Jersey-based Avaya has submitted a $475 million stalking horse bid for the unit, known as its enterprise business. That meant Avaya's offer set the floor price for other potential bidders.

With the deadline to submit offers for the unit having expired on Friday, a Nortel spokesman confirmed the company had received bids in addition to Avaya's.

He would not say how many bids had materialized or provide any other details. It also wasn't immediately clear when the winner would be announced.

Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in January, blaming the economy for derailing its turnaround efforts. Not much later it decided it could generate more value for its creditors by selling itself off in pieces rather than trying to restructure itself into a viable business.

In July, Canadian and U.S. courts also approved the company's sale of its prized wireless assets to Sweden's Ericsson for $1.13 billion.

Shortly before Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski stepped down in August, he told Reuters he was confident the company would reach stalking-horse agreements for all parts of its business by the end of this month.

(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Frank McGurty)

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