Timing related. Nortel over-extended themselves in the 1990s by making a bunch of acquisitions related to networking. RIM could've bailed them out or acquired t

Timing related. Nortel over-extended themselves in the 1990s by making a bunch of acquisitions related to networking. RIM could've bailed them out or acquired the company outright since they were very strong financially until just after 2008. Remember, when the iPhone launched RIM was at their peak strength and Nortel was a forgotten husk.