Novell's Mystery PE Bidder is Thoma Bravo

It’s late in the day and I just learned that Novell’s mystery PE bidder is none other than Thoma Bravo. Novell, a business software developer, has been up for sale since March. At that time, the firm rejected a $5.75 a share, or $2 billion, offer from Elliot Associates. Novell then tapped J.P. Morgan Chase to explore alternatives. On Tuesday, the NY Post said Novell will sell in two parts. The publication reported that a strategic partner will buy the Novell piece that develops and delivers Linux SUSE Systems while a PE firm was in line to buy the rest. The story didn't provide names of the bidders, and it said that the huge software developer is three to four weeks away from signing the deal.

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