Novell sold to Attachmate for $2.2bn

Services software and NetIQ-owner vendor Attachmate has splurged a total of $2.2bn in cash or $6.10 per share (£1.37bn) to acquire workload management software vendor Novell and its SUSE brand.

Parts of Novell's IP are also to be sold to CPTN Holdings, a group of companies led by Microsoft.

In a statement issued today, Novell president and CEO Ron Hovsepian said that the firm had been exploring ways of enhancing "stockholder value".

"Our Board of Directors concluded that the best available alternative was the combination of a merger with Attachmate Corporation and a sale of certain intellectual property assets to the consortium," he 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," added Hovsepian.

Attachmate, which is currently owned by a private equity consortium comprised of Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital and Thoma Bravo, said in a statement that it would maintain and strengthen Novell and SUSE's solutions in response to market demands

"The 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 Attachmate CEO Jeff Hawn.

The transaction is scheduled to close during the first quarter of 2011, subject to approval.