Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Novell, VMware, General Electric, Monsanto and Sony

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 21, 2010 – Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Novell Inc. (NOVL), VMware Inc. (VMW - Snapshot Report), General Electric Co. (GE - Analyst Report), Monsanto Co. (MON - Analyst Report) and Sony Corp. (SNE - Snapshot Report).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Is Novell Selling to VMWare?

Enterprise software developer, Novell Inc. (NOVL) is in discussions with the virtualization infrastructure software solutions provider VMware Inc. (VMW - Snapshot Report) to sell its Linux Operating systems business, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Journal, Novell is in advanced stages of negotiations with VMware to sell its SUSE Linux operating systems, with the only point of consideration being valuation. Novell acquired the Germany based SUSE AG in 2003.

Following the acquisition news, Novell shares rose by 32 cents, or 5.8%, to $5.89.

According to the Journal, Novell is also in talks with a software company Attachmate Corp. which is supported by private equity firms like Golden Gate Capital and Francisco Partners, to sell the remaining part of the company that comprises NetWare network operating system.

Novell remains a potential takeover candidate and has been approached by various other entities this year. In March, Novell rejected a buyout offer from the investment firm Elliott Associates L.P., citing that the proposal of $5.75 per share (49.0% over the company’s enterprise value) in cash is inadequate and it undervalues the company's franchise and growth prospects.

Elliott is an investment firm with over $16.0 billion in assets and holds approximately 8.5% of Novell’s common stock.

We believe Novell’s Linux assets deserve premium valuation as it has a strong customer base and remains a major revenue contributor. Novell remains the #2 maker of the open source Linux operating system.

Recently, Novell launched WorkloadIQ to benefit from the rapidly growing intelligent workload management (IWM) market. Novell currently has more than 30 new customers for its WorkloadIQ products.

Moreover, the company has an impressive clientele, including General Electric Co. (GE - Analyst Report), Monsanto Co. (MON - Analyst Report) and Sony Corp. (SNE - Snapshot Report).

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Read the full analyst report on NOVL

Read the full analyst report on VMW

Read the full analyst report on GE

Read the full analyst report on MON

Read the full analyst report on SNE