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Technology Stocks : Novell (NOVL) dirt cheap, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DJBEINO who wrote (25749)	3/3/1999 4:58:00 PM
From: Paul Fiondella	Respond to of 42771

An impressive day for NOVL This is an interesting time to watching the stock. It has resisted a lot of the market correction in the techs. Some of you will remember it also did this quite well when it was back around 12 in October and briefly made it down to 9 1/2. I would find today's action very positive if it were not for all of the take-over rumors posted here about HP. No one can miss the tie ins --- they are looking for a new CEO (Schmidt certainly is a model isn't he---forward looking, cautious, intelligent, open to new ideas, connected to the next generation in the Valley), they have John Young on Novell's BOD --- a former HP CEO and the fellow responsible for giving Schmidt his chance (which now of course looks brilliant to those who may have resisted the move), NOVL is still cheap as an acquisition --- even at $40 a share you are looking at 14 billion, former CEO Frankenburg (God have I forgotten his name!) came from HP. Everyone knows that Novell never said it was not for sale even as it made it clear that it is against repealing the poison pill. It specifically said in that document that it was willing to talk to any buyer that approached the BOD and was not after greenmail. (See SEC filings) The company is not in play but it is not impossible that it would or even has been approached by a suitor now that it has clearly established itself as on the verge of meeting our internet expectations. I assume these kinds of conversations go on all the time in the context of "where we are going with our company". Only bad news for HP is that you got competition in the bidding once it begins, so you better make it really sweet! I'd rather like to believe that today's run in the stock has more to do with Novell and its prospects than with rumors.