Networking Pioneer Novell Sells Out to Attachmate and Microsoft-Led Group
IT management software Novell’s financial difficulties are expected to be solved with the $2.2 billion buyout by Attachmate, a software company. A Microsoft-organized consortium has also agreed to buy the networking company’s intellectual property assets for $450 MILLION.
Novell, which made a name in the 1980s through the NetWare network operating system, has experienced eight straight years of revenue declines as a result of its attempts to establish market leadership in workload management and open source software.
New York hedge fund Elliot Associations attempted a $2-billion takeover in March, but failed because as CEO Ron Hovsepian said, they undervalued the “franchise and growth prospects” of Novell when the offer was made. Elliot is still involved in the new deal with Attachmate, but as an equity shareholder.
Novell’s decision not to sell out last March has been questioned by people who believed it is no longer worth $2 billion. At that time, Novell still had assets worth $1.82 billion.
It appears that Hovsepian was correct, considering Attachmate’s $6.10 per share offer to Novell, compared to the $5.75 per share bid of Elliott before.
Attachmate, which is owned by an investment group led by Thomas Bravo, Golden Gate Capital and Francisco Partners, is known for its buyout of companies like On Demand Software and NetIQ.
Novell, which was founded on 1979, was led by Raymond Noorda during its glory days from the mid 1980s to early 1990s. It was however knocked down by Microsoft.
Novell’s differences with Microsoft have been put aside when they forged a partnership in 2006 to make managing Linux and Windows environments a lot easier.
Novell Sells Out To Attachmate
Novell Sells Out To Attachmate
Networking Pioneer Novell Sells Out to Attachmate and Microsoft-Led Group
IT management software Novell’s financial difficulties are expected to be solved with the $2.2 billion buyout by Attachmate, a software company. A Microsoft-organized consortium has also agreed to buy the networking company’s intellectual property assets for $450 MILLION.
Novell, which made a name in the 1980s through the NetWare network operating system, has experienced eight straight years of revenue declines as a result of its attempts to establish market leadership in workload management and open source software.
New York hedge fund Elliot Associations attempted a $2-billion takeover in March, but failed because as CEO Ron Hovsepian said, they undervalued the “franchise and growth prospects” of Novell when the offer was made. Elliot is still involved in the new deal with Attachmate, but as an equity shareholder.
Novell’s decision not to sell out last March has been questioned by people who believed it is no longer worth $2 billion. At that time, Novell still had assets worth $1.82 billion.
It appears that Hovsepian was correct, considering Attachmate’s $6.10 per share offer to Novell, compared to the $5.75 per share bid of Elliott before.
Attachmate, which is owned by an investment group led by Thomas Bravo, Golden Gate Capital and Francisco Partners, is known for its buyout of companies like On Demand Software and NetIQ.
Novell, which was founded on 1979, was led by Raymond Noorda during its glory days from the mid 1980s to early 1990s. It was however knocked down by Microsoft.
Novell’s differences with Microsoft have been put aside when they forged a partnership in 2006 to make managing Linux and Windows environments a lot easier.
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