Novell agrees to sell Wordperfect division; Corel buying unit for $115 million

Article Abstract:

Corel Systems pays $115 million in stock and cash for Novell's WordPerfect div, and the company will continue to make royalty payments of at least $70 million until the year 2001. Novell acquires a seat on Corel's board and a 20% interest in the company. The purchase price is significantly lower than the $885 million that Novell paid to buy the WordPerfect Corp in 1993 and the additional $145 million it paid for the Borland International Quattro Pro spreadsheet program. Corel assumes the WordPerfect word-processing software, the Quattro Pro spreadsheet and the Perfect Office application suite. The company will license the Envoy electronic publishing software and the Groupwise work group program. Corel Pres and CEO Michael Copland says that the company will sell WordPerfect programs by bundling them and pre-installing them in computers. He goes on to point out that WordPerfect products typically earn better reviews than those from Microsoft.

Computer Software, Software, Mergers, acquisitions and divestments, Product information, Investments, Corel Corp., Company product acquisition

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Cadence Design accuses a rival of stealing secrets; Avanti calls suit baseless, but stock falls

Article Abstract:

Cadence Design Systems sues Avanti for conspiracy, stealing software code and copyright infringement, while Avanti responds that the suit has no basis. Cadence and Avanti both specialize in CAD software used to create chips. No criminal charges are on file, but Avanti was served with a search warrant and a court order was issued to restrain Avanti from altering or destroying any code involved in the lawsuit. Cadence initiated the lawsuit after one of its engineers saw peculiarities that he had programmed into Cadence products in an Avanti product while working at a customer location. Avanti is the result of a merger of Integrated Silicon Systems and Arcsys, which was founded by four former Cadence executives. Arcsys also had a practice of hiring former Cadence employees. Cadence has an affidavit from Michael C. La Bouff of Cypress Semiconductor that states that the Cadence and Avanti programs had the same source codes at one time.

Engineering, Mfg Software Pkgs (Micro), Cases, Copyrights, Patents, Scientific software, Litigation, Engineering software, Cadence Design Systems Inc., CDN, Patent/Copyright Issue, Lawsuit/Litigation, Avanti Corp.

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Novell reports operating profit for first time in four quarters

Article Abstract:

Novell announced a net income of $14.1 million, or 4 cents a diluted share, for the fiscal 1st qtr 1998. This report marks the first operating profit in four quarters for the former leading computer networking software vendor. By comparison, Wall Street had expected Novell to earn 2 cents a share, according to First Call. Novell's net income represents a 72% drop from the 1st qtr 1997's total of $50.8 million, or 15 cents a share. Sales also dropped from $374.8 million in the 1st qtr 1997 to $252 million in the 1st qtr 1998, a 33% decline. Chmn and CEO Eric Schmidt, who joined Novell in 1997, has introduced a turnaround strategy that resumes direct market competition with Microsoft for network OSes. Initial steps have been successful, but Novell will face its real challenge in the next six to nine months, according to IDC analyst Frank Gens.

Distributed DP Software Pkgs, Finance, Company sales/revenue, Company sales and earnings, Company earnings/profit, Network software

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