● 11.29.10

●● Novell’s Last Week – Part VII: NOVL Goes Dark as Many Lawsuits Filed by Shareholders

Posted in Finance, Novell at 11:15 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Novell is under an investors siege for signing a bad deal with AttachMSFT

Robert Pogson has had a terrible week and news from Novell was only part of the problem. As he put it in his blog:

M$ buying Novell through a third party controlled by M$ is interesting. It is obvious that they did not buy Novell directly to avoid anti-competition considerations but it seems a smoke-screen. It will be interesting to see how ugly GNU/Linux can be made when M$ manages things. They could just shut Suse down or diversify. It will be interesting to see how they sell two products that are so different.

The “anti-competition” part should warrant a lawsuit; but with this whole AttachMSFT loophole it won’t pass muster.

Novell is practically dead as a company and it will not report its results as it promised several weeks ago. It just won’t have to face this embarrassment. The stock is still publicly traded for the time being and financial news which mentioned Novell over the past week may include (not a complete list by any means):

Top Gainers of NASDAQ in Technology Sector (LVLT, IGLD, NOVL, SNDK, STEC)Stocks Fall on European Debt Jitters (AMZN, BAC, FCX, GMCR, GS, HPQ, JPM, NFLX, NOVL, XOM)FINDING A BULL MARKET AMID EURO CRISIS FEARS: NOVL, S, GMCR, CRUS, CRM, HSFTMonday Deals: Moody’s Buys CSI Global; Novell to Merge with AttachmateMid-Day Update: Stocks Trending Lower; Ireland Remains Investor Focus Through Session’s First HalfMarket Alert – Top 9 Stocks to WatchNetflix, Novell pace broad tech gainsUS HOT STOCKS: Novell, Green Mountain, Netflix, RegeneronCiti Trends, Green Mountain, Netflix, NovellVolume Spike Detected in Shares of Novell as They Move Higher on 26.3x Above-Average Volume (NOVL)A Bailout for Ireland Weighs Heavily on Markets (yes, it mentions Novell)Rice Says Google Purchase of Groupon Is `Fantastic Idea’: Video (ditto)Irish bailout fails to prevent stocks slumping on Wall StreetNasdaq 3 Most Active Stocks (NOVL, GMCR and CRUS)Stock Gainers To Watch: NOVL, AFFY, CLDXMassey Energy’s Board Orders Review of ‘Strategic Alternatives’Apple Pulls Special SIM For iPhone 5US Stocks Drop As Worries Over Euro-Zone Debt Persist; DJIA Off 76US Stocks Sink; Financials Drop After FBI Raids Hedge FundsUS STOCKS-Wall St drops on euro-zone debt worries, banksUS STOCKS-Wall St drops on euro-zone debt worries, banksTop 5 Companies in the Technology Sector With the Best Relative Performance (CRUS, NOVL, VIT, SNDK, AMKR)Windows onto Microsoft’s enemies on Wall StreetMost Active Stocks In Morning Session 11/22/10 (Citigroup, Novell, Bank of America, Las Vegas Sands, Cisco) by EquityMarketReport.comStocks Fall on Irish Bailout; Tyson, M&A in FocusBank worries drag down stocksBye-Bye, Novell!Goldman, Tyson Foods, Novell are big moversGreen Mountain Coffee And Novell Help Nasdaq Go GreenNovell Jumped the Most in the S&P 500Moody’s Buys Financial Training Firm, Novell Goes PrivateBank of Ireland, Dundee, Novell: U.S. Equity MoversStock Market update: Stocks fall after fears of insider trading Wall Street FBI raidNews SummaryNasdaq stocks posting largest volume increasesStocks Shed Losses to End MixedMarket Focus with Tom HudsonThai Stocks May Snap Winning StreakToday’s Big Gainers: NOVL, REGN, TSO, HUM, OSUR, MAGSUS stocks end mixed…Banks fallWeaker Opening For New Zealand MarketMarkets Close Lower after FBI’s Insider Trading ProbeStock Movers In Late Morning Session (SJI, Novell, APRI)Stock Movers In Late Morning Session (SJI, Novell, APRI)Percentage Losers in Review at NASDAQ Technology Sector are LTXC, VRGY, PWER, NOVL and SHORPercentage Losers in Review at NASDAQ Technology Sector are LTXC, VRGY, PWER, NOVL and SHOROptions Brief: Novell, Inc. (NOVL)Today in TechBusiness briefs: Economy to be feeble in 2011, experts predictBUYINS.NET: Market Maker Surveillance Report. HEME, XOP, IPWG, NYT, PFS, NOVL, Bullishly Biased Price Friction For Monday, November 22nd 2010Wall Street drops on euro-zone debt worries, banksBank of Ireland, Dundee, Novell: U.S. Equity MoversCSCO, BRCD, ASTC, INTC, MU and NOVL are Most Active NASDAQ Stocks to WatchBestOfOTC.com Noticeable Active Stocks at NASDAQ: (CSCO, QQQQ, MSFT, BRCD, INTC, NOVL, ORCL)CSCO, BRCD, ASTC, INTC, MU and NOVL are Most Active NASDAQ Stocks to WatchU.S., World Stocks Fall on Korean Tension; GDP Revised Up 2.5%Hot Performers of the Day at NASDAQ – MYL, DELL, BRCD, NOVL, ARTG7 Reasons to Worry About Next WeekNasdaq 3 Most Active Stocks (NOVL, BRCD and ORCL)Wall Street losses led by financials

Novell was mentioned a lot because of the deal with AttachMSFT. It also got sued by shareholders, from more than a single direction in fact. As one site put it, “Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation On Behalf of Shareholders of Novell, Inc. in Connection with the Proposed Acquisition of the Company by Attachmate Corporation” (there are many such investigations, not just one, e.g. from Finkelstein Thompson LLP [1, 2], Abe Shainberg, and Brodsky & Smith LLC). As Jupitermedia put it (in a blog post):

Not everyone is happy about Attachmate’s bid to acquire Novell for $2.2 billion. In fact, the deal has now attracted at least two (and likely many more to come) legal ‘investigations’ which could ultimately result in class action law suits.One of the investigations is being led by Weiss & Lurie, a national class action and shareholder rights law firm while a second investigation is being run by Kendal Law Group, led by former federal judge Joe Kendall.Both groups are going to examine whether or not Novell has breached its fiduciary duty with the proposed Attachmate deal, by not getting the best deal possible for Novell’s shareholders.

There should be antitrust action, not just this form action where money is the central issue. Novell’s board got filled with Microsoft-friendly people over the years, as we covered at the time it happened (multiple examples), so the sale of company assets to Microsoft is not at all shocking. It’s a fine example of entryism and market distortion. █

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