“The Linux “juggernaut” Cowpland refers to has no doubt rescued
Corel’s fortunes. However, with an increase of $600-odd million in
market capitalization, thanks largely to speculation of Red Hat
scooping up the profitable Corel, the company now stands on the
acquisition path and doesn’t have time to look back. Setting his
sights on picking up utilities and perhaps further content to round
out the Corel platform, Cowpland clearly is on the offensive.”
“In the wide-ranging interview, Cowpland talks about the rumors
of a Red Hat acquisition and remains coy… this is a man
exhibiting tremendous confidence as his suite of products, namely
Corel’s Linux OS, outsells the Red Hat product 10:1. With Red Hat
considered a key ally rather than a menacing suitor, Cowpland
sees Corel playing to both markets as the Ottawa software company
is clearly comfortable playing both sides of the line.
“Cowpland is quick to take issue with the obvious lopsided
market caps between Red Hat and Corel, currently sitting around $14
billion to $1 billion respectively. With obvious respect for a
runaway market and a stable of proven products, Corel sits
comfortably back in the game.”