“With its stock in a major sulk, Corel is currently
capitalized at about a half billion bucks. Who’s willing to pay a
premium to snap it up?”
“Some takers might lurk in the Linux camp. Other potential
suitors might be big hardware or maybe even software contenders
that still have a little stock to spare. On the downside, precious
few of these folks seem very interested in desktop
applications.”
“A well-heeled application service provider (ASP) might make a
better match. Running basic applications over the Net is slowly
turning into a real business. StarOffice and new built-for-the-Web
suites such as ThinkFree.com can’t really hit the high bar against
Microsoft, but perhaps WordPerfect Office online could present a
challenge.”
“Maybe Yahoo should buy Corel and make its apps into ASPs. Isn’t
this an opportunity over the long run for a well-heeled
portal?”