Webwire: Nortel auction delayed, Twitter M&A?

Nortel patent auction delayed

People involved in the auction of Nortel's remaining patent portfolio claim the process has been delayed because no bidder wants to pay the roughly $1 billion target set by the liquidator.

Reuters

Google, Facebook circle Twitter for $10b M&A?

Companies including Google and Facebook have been in talks with Twitter over a possible acquisition, sources say, with estimated valuations reportedly skirting as high as $10 billion.

Wall Street Journal

Clearwire may exit retail operations

US Wimax provider Clearwire may exit the retail business, instead concentrating on providing its network on a wholesale basis. Partner Sprint Nextel might provide the company with more capital if it agrees to the divestment.

Bloomberg

Voda, Essar pick UBS to settle JV value fight

Vodafone and Essar Group have shortlisted banker UBS to settle their dispute over the valuation of joint venture Vodafone Essar. Essar can choose to sell all or part of its stake to Vodafone by May.

Times of India

2degrees flags $76m network expansion

New Zealand's 2degress has announced a NZ$100m ($76.2m) mobile network expansion. Huawei has been selected for the rollout. The operator has now spent $400m on the network since its 2009 launch.

NZ Herald

Future Group aims for $66m from MVNO

Indian retail giant Future Group hopes to earn 2-3 billion rupees ($43-66 million) this year from MVNO brand T24, which uses the Tata Teleservices network. T24 services were first launched last June.

Economic Times

Muted first-day response to CDMA iPhone

The Verzion CDMA iPhone went on sale yesterday, but despite strong pre-sales, Verizon and Apple stores were reportedly bereft of the sprawling queues that usually accompany a new iPhone launch.

CNN

Facebook launches Deals in Europe

Facebook has launched Places Deals, its location-based discount promotions service, in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Canada.

The Guardian