If Novell gets bought, will Red Hat follow?
Elliott's proposed acquisition of Novell promises to shake up the software industry, which has grown a bit staid in the past year or two. But what will it mean for Red Hat, and for the broader open-source software industry?
In particular, Novell's acquisition might well spur a mergers and acquisitions revival, as Barron's notes. But will it create overwhelming pressure for Red Hat to sell, too?
Red Hat has been the subject of buyout rumors for well over a decade, but has never been particularly close to indulging the temptation, according to sources close to the company. Through it all, Red Hat continues to churn out record quarters while slowly building out its infrastructure arsenal with the acquisitions of Qumranet and JBoss.
