Attachmate Corp to Acquire Novell Inc Upon Closing

Attachmate Corporation, led by Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital and Thoma Bravo, has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Novell, Inc. upon closing.

Novell (News - Alert), a provider of intelligent workload management, helps organizations securely deliver and manage computing services across physical, virtual and cloud computing environments.

The acquisition came with a purchase price of $6.10 per common share in cash. The total transaction is valued at approximately $2.2 billion.

"This acquisition will add significant assets to our current portfolio holdings and the Novell and SUSE brands will allow us to deliver even more value to customers," said Jeff Hawn, chairman and CEO of Attachmate Corporation. "We have great respect for Novell's business, its employees and its commitment to customers. Moreover, we look forward to maintaining and further strengthening Novell and SUSE solutions to meet market demands."

As part of the transaction, Elliott Management Corporation, one of Novell's largest shareholders, will become an equity shareholder in Attachmate Corporation. After Novell closes, Attachmate Corporation will manage a brand portfolio consisting of Attachmate(R), NetIQ (News - Alert)(R), Novell(R) and SUSE(R).

"We believe the transaction with Attachmate Corporation will deliver important benefits to Novell's customers, partners and employees by providing opportunities for building on Novell's history of innovation and market leadership," said Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO of Novell. "Novell, SUSE, Attachmate and NetIQ have complementary product portfolios and many shared customers. We are pleased that Attachmate has committed to building on the strengths of the Novell and SUSE brands to address customer needs."

The transaction is currently expected to close in the first quarter of 2011 and is subject to customary closing conditions including antitrust clearance, Novell stockholder approval and other regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The deal is also conditioned upon the closing of Novell's planned sale of intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings LLC.

Stefanie Mosca is a Web editor for TMCnet. Previously she worked as a freelance copy editor for Digital Surgeons LLC. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefanie Mosca