Summary: Novell's end as a publicly-traded company seems inevitable based on the plan to have an auction

VERY recently (earlier this week in fact) we wrote about a takeover of Novell.

Shareholders pay attention to the news and the stock is moving a lot [1, 2, 3]. This volatility is ending with Novell being down today (along with the rest of the market), having gained a little when takeover news come in and share price fluctuated.

The latest news about Novell is important enough an event to be ranked high inside the digests, especially at Reuters where the latest turn in this story seems to have begun.

As many as 20 bidders are interested in buying U.S. software company Novell Inc (NOVL.O), which has put itself up for sale and is this week accepting bids, the Wall Street Journal reported. [ID:nN19268405]

Here are a couple more digests [1, 2].

Up to 20 bidders interested in Novell As many as 20 bidders are interested in buying software company Novell Inc, which has put itself up for sale and is this week accepting bids, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The original report is here and it says:

As many as 20 bidders are interested in buying software company Novell Inc (NOVL.O), which has put itself up for sale and is this week accepting bids, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Resultant coverage includes:

● Calls Sold on Novell Inc.

● Novell Accepting Acquisition Bids: Report

As many as 20 companies are interested in acquiring software vendor Novell, and this week marks the deadline for potential buyers to submit bids, according to a published report.

● Novell seeks new suitors

Novell, which put itself on the block some months ago, has sought expressions of interest from suitors by the end of the week, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

● Report: Novell to accept bids this week for sale

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the newspaper said a group of finalists probably will be picked from bidders whose proposals are due this week.

● Novell to solicit buyout offers this week, report says

● Novell Draws 20 Bidders

● Novell Accepting Bids This Week: Report

● Suitors Line Up For Novell

● Twenty interested parties likely to bid for US software maker Novell

● Novell Acquisition Bids Going Public

Up to 20 firms, mostly hedge funds, are considering trying to take over the software company.

● Report: Novell accepting bids from up to 20 companies

Novell are expected to select a number of bidders as "finalists" and then hold an auction amongst that group. Novell declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal on the matter.

Based on that paragraph/sentence, it seems like a sale is inevitable.

An ex employee of Novell, Matt Asay, spins it a little with the headline "Novell: 20 chances to reinvent itself" (idioms side, hedge funds cannot invent much, except structure or liquidation).

Regardless, Novell needs to go private so that it can make the hard decisions it has been wanting to make since at least 2002, when I was there. Novell's pressure to grow while under the fierce spotlight of Wall Street prompted its ill-fated engagement with Microsoft, which has delivered short-term revenue while destroying long-term value and goodwill within the open-source community.

The VAR Guy too defends Novell, which is expected given his relationship with the company.

Novell expects to evaluate initial takeover bids for the company this week, according to The Wall Street Journal. As many as 20 companies have expressed interest in Novell, the Journal said. Of course, The VAR guy has his own opinion of the situation. Here it is…

According to this article in French, Novell was seen as a candidate to buy Mandriva too. From the automated translation we have Novell's CMO John Dragoon saying: "Some aspects of the company Mandriva are interesting, for sure. We have great respect for its technology, but this is not what might interest us." The last thing Mandriva needs right now is Novell and its patent relationship with Microsoft. ⬆