The dying Nortel will now have a three-member board comprising John A. MacNaughton, Jalynn H. Bennett and David Richardson, with Richardson serving as the new chairman.

Outgoing chairman Harry Pearce said: 'We have reached a logical departure point. Mike (the outgoing CEO) made a commitment to see the process through the stabilization of the company, sale of its largest assets and the right plans and people to continue operating our business and serving customers. He has done so.'

A Canadian corporate giant, Nortel accounted for almost one third of the total valuation of all the companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) till the dotcom bust of 2000 did it in. Its market capitalization plummeted from almost $400 billion just before the dotcom bust in September 2000 to $5 billion within two years as its stock sank from $124 to $0.47.

Then came the accounting scandal of 2004 which left its reputation in tatters. In 2006, the telecom giant had to shell out $2.5 billion to settle shareholder class actions.

When the global economic crisis hit last year, Nortel was already in very bad financial shape. As markets shrank and credit avenues dried up, the company sank deeper.

Bankruptcy protection was its last option to survive, but it too failed to save it.