The question of how to divide $7.3 billion raised in the international bankruptcy of Nortel Networks Corp. was answered Tuesday by two judges, one in the U.S. and one in Canada.

Justice Frank Newbould of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto and Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. agreed on the outcome: a modified pro rata split of the money.

"These insolvency proceedings have now lasted over six years at unimaginable expense and they should if at all possible come to a final resolution. It is in all of the parties' interests for that to occur," the Canadian judge wrote.

The decisions grew out of a long-running and pricey trial that pitted the parent Nortel against its U.S. unit, with each claiming prime claim on the cash raised by selling off the telecommunications company's businesses and patents.

British pensioners and other European creditors also vied for a share of the money, arguing it was unfair for distressed debt speculators to reap big profits while retirees and disabled workers took cuts to their incomes.

Nortel filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and sold off its businesses and patents. The fight over the money has taken years and absorbed hundreds of millions of dollars.

Write to Peg Brickley at peg.brickley@wsj.com

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