NOVELL: Novell to Acquire SilverStream Software "Under terms of the agreement, Novell will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of SilverStream common stock at a price of $9.00 per share, followed by a merger in which the holders of the remaining outstanding shares of SilverStream common stock will receive the same cash price. Assuming a closing of the acquisition in July 2002, with approximately 23.6 million shares projected to be outstanding, which includes estimated option exercises prior to the closing date, the total cash acquisition price before acquisition fees will be approximately $212 million. In that event, cash on SilverStream's balance sheet is expected to total approximately $100 million, which would yield a net cash outlay by Novell of approximately $112 million." ... "This acquisition will make Novell a meaningful player in the web services game, right next to others who are pursuing a services strategy, like IBM, Microsoft and Sun, " said Chris Stone, Vice Chairman - Office of the CEO at Novell. "But we're coming at this market from a different place. Instead of the monolithic approach based on proprietary products that others have adopted, Novell is focused on offering a cost effective, flexible alternative that allows the products of all vendors to work together. It's a role we play already in the networking space, and one - uniquely - we'll take to the Web services arena. ... "By bringing the capabilities of SilverStream, Cambridge and Novell together, we'll have the pieces in place to deliver on our one Net vision of a world where resources of all types can be securely managed and utilized across networks of all types, all working together freely," Stone explained. [thanks to Paul DiCristina for the update]