Attachmate to buy Novell in $2.2b deal
Novell Inc., a Waltham company specializing in workload management, said it has agreed to be acquired by Attachmate Corp. for $6.10 per share in cash in a transaction valued at about $2.2 billion.
Novell shares closed Friday at $5.59.
Novell also said it has entered into an agreement for the concurrent sale of certain intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings LLC, a consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft Corp., for $450 million in cash, "which cash payment is reflected in the merger consideration to be paid by Attachmate Corp.," a company press release said.
Attachmate is owned by an investment group led by Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital. and Thoma Bravo. Attachmate enables information technology organizations to extend mission critical services and assures they are managed, secure, and compliant.
A Novell press release included a statement from company president and chief executive Ron Hovsepian.
"After a thorough review of a broad range of alternatives to enhance stockholder value, our board of directors concluded that the best available alternative was the combination of a merger with Attachmate Corp. and a sale of certain intellectual property assets to the consortium," Hovsepian said. "We are pleased that these transactions appropriately recognize the value of Novell's relationships, technology, and solutions, while providing our stockholders with an attractive cash premium for their investment."
Attachmate Corporation plans to operate Novell as two business units: Novell and SUSE and will join them with its other holdings, the release said.
