July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bridgescale Partners, the California venture firm focused on technology, may bid for assets from Nortel Networks Corp. as the insolvent phone-equipment maker auctions itself off in pieces.

Bridgescale may spend as much as $100 million, working with other firms, Managing Director Rob Chaplinsky said in an interview today. Nokia Siemens Networks offered $650 million for the wireless systems business, which MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC trumped yesterday with a $725 million bid.

That division also has attracted Research In Motion Ltd., which said this week that Nortel barred it from making an offer. Nortel Chief Executive Officer Mike Zafirovski put all the businesses up for sale after the Toronto-based company filed for bankruptcy protection six months ago, hurt by more than $7 billion in losses since 2006.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry phone, valued the wireless business at as much as $1.1 billion. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge is set to choose a buyer for the business July 24.

Closely held network-gear maker Avaya Inc. bid $475 million for Nortel’s corporate systems unit this week. Nortel is pursuing the auctions through so-called stalking horse agreements, leaving itself open to higher offers.

“We’re interested in a sliver of something,” said Chaplinsky, who worked for Nortel as a student in the 1980s. “They’ve got a lot of stuff that’s really, really good.”

Bridgescale, based in Menlo Park, is opening an office in Toronto to expand into the eastern U.S. and Canada, Chaplinsky said. The firm, founded in 2006, has raised $170 million and invested in companies like Proofpoint Inc., whose Fortiva e-mail archiving unit is based in Toronto.

To contact the reporters on this story: Doug Alexander in Toronto at dalexander3@bloomberg.net; Hugo Miller in Toronto at Hugomiller@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 22, 2009 12:19 EDT