“Corel shares soared yesterday on speculation that Red Hat was
planning a bid for the rival Linux distributor. The market clearly
views the possibility as a marriage made in heaven, because Red Hat
stock promptly hared after it….”
“As yet, there’s been a no-comment-on-speculation from Red Hat,
and “we haven’t been approached by Red Hat” from Corel. So far,
the trading pattern in the shares suggests that it is day traders
who are jumping in on the high level of activity, rather than
action by insiders. The rumour resulted from financial analyst
speculation that because Red Hat had acquired the privately-held
tools maker Cygnus in mid-November for $674 million, other
acquisitions were likely.”
“Other possible objects of Red Hat’s affection, and significant
financial leverage, include Sendmail, and perhaps Mozilla. Red Hat
announced yesterday that it had concluded a deal to provide
consultancy and support to AutoZone, an auto parts retailer that
plans to install Linux terminals in its 2,800 stores. In September,
the Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse installed Linux in its 260
stores.”