Re: Prime takeover target -- WHAT !!!???
IBM or Novell can get pretty much the same results without rewarding SCO by purchasing it (and paying poison pill premiums)
If SCO had any sense they'd be frantically trying to settle now.
The Novell trial begins next month, a trial that can only leave SCO bankrupt.
Suppose BS&F lawyers pull a miracle, and convince the jury that 50% of the Sun and Microsoft Licenses were for UnixWare. That makes $17M that SCO has to pay back to Novell, plus interests. Then there are the penalities and damages, for having broken their contract obligation, stalled audits, lying about the nature of the license. Say, only $5M in penalities, they get off lightly.
And then, there's Novell Slander of Title countercharge. Novell has Clear Title, check. Novell can prove Special Damages, no trouble. Can Novell prove Malice ? You bet they can.
So I'm up to $22M, and Novel has even more counterclaims. Can SCO pay $22M to $50M in penalties, with $10M or less in the bank ? I think not.
So SCO will cease to be a factor, no need to fork out $15M to buy the company, just to avoid a $3M lawsuit that you are dead certain to win.