Analysts back in April said that if a bidding war for the Nortel intellectual property heated up, the price could hit $1.5 billion. http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2011/06/20/intel-apple-ericsson-join-nortel.html Next it will be 2.0 billion and then 3 billion. The trend is that the estimated price is rising as more interest and awareness of the value of the patents. An auction war will prevail. The auction process will require the parties to put out a big number just in case another decides to edge them. Industry analyst have already said 15 billion is reasonable value to the right owner.