Submitted via IRC for Bytram
HPE says it has closed the $8.8bn deal to spin off much of its software business with Micro Focus.
The enterprise giant said that the deal – which sees HPE merge the unwanted portion of its software operation with the UK-based Micro Focus to create what analysts estimate to be the seventh-largest software vendor in the world – had been finalized.
"With the completion of this transaction, HPE has achieved a major milestone in becoming a stronger, more focused company, purpose-built to compete and win in today's market," said HPE CEO Meg Whitman.
"And, this transaction will deliver approximately $8.8bn to HPE and its stockholders."
First announced in September 2016, the reverse-takeover agreement sees HPE selling off its IT management, big data, and security lines to Micro Focus, which will try to make the products more successful than they were under the former HP Inc.
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/01/hpe_8bn_micro_focus_software_spinoff/
Related Stories
SUSE Linux Sold for $2.5 Billion
British software company Micro Focus International has agreed to sell SUSE Linux and its associated software business to Swedish private equity group EQT Partners for $2.535 billion.
Also at The Register, Linux Journal, MarketWatch, and Reuters.
Previously: SuSE Linux has a New Owner
HPE Wraps Up $8.8bn Micro Focus Software Dump Spin-Off
Related: SUSE Pledges Endless Love for btrfs; Says Red Hat's Dumping Irrelevant
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday September 03 2017, @07:06PM (2 children)
This is really HPE's management admitting that they are not capable of running the business profitably.
Either that or the intent is to reduce pay rates in a manner not possible within the larger HPE company.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 03 2017, @07:54PM (1 child)
The woman who spent over a hundred million dollars only to lose an election.
Yeah she sounds like someone worthy of corporate investment. After all it is go big or go home. They don't really care if you lose, right?
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday September 03 2017, @08:16PM
They say they want to focus on core competencies. Then they'd better sell the whole company. Or cut @MegWhitman loose. Because she's unfit to lead. She couldn’t lead sailors into a whorehouse with an offer of free drinks and pussy. #RepealThe22nd 🇺🇸
(Score: 5, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday September 03 2017, @07:21PM (1 child)
The only reason to care about the steaming pile dumped on MicroFocus's death cart is that it contains Suse Linux [suse.com] as well as Opensuse.
They still offer their horribly overpriced COBOL as well as a boat load of crapware that the company has accumulated from dying companies.
It seems like every generation in the software industry some company is selected to accumulate all the detritus of broken dreams with just enough customers clinging to them to drive each of them separately into bankruptcy. The Idea is that they might somehow survive if they all climb into the same overcrowded lifeboat. Remember the death throes of AOL? What? not dead yet? Throw them on the cart anyway.
Still you hate to see Suse end up on that cart. They actually had a visible means of support with their Suse Linux Enterprise Server. Or they did till their own Government passed them over [wikipedia.org] for some un-heard of not ready for prime time Ubuntu clone.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 04 2017, @04:23AM
SUSE is managed as an "independent" company inside MicroFocus. MicroFocus sees SUSE as important for future growth while the rest of the heap is managed under the MicroFocus umbrella. This is why SUSE and openSUSE remain its own brands.
If you look at MicroFocus history, they've had great success at managing the zombies. SUSE, on the other hand, is not quite a zombie, but I guess they got it when they acquired that other company that got SUSE when it was in its own death throes.
SUSE and RedHat have had comparable profit growth over last few years. Definitely making some good money now. See MicroFocus financial statements for real numbers.
Disclaimer: working at SUSE so posting anonymously.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by turgid on Sunday September 03 2017, @08:16PM (3 children)
What's the point of these once-mighty corporations? What are they for?
One of my oldest friends ended up working for HP when they acquired EDS. Every year there were redundancies. Every year there were no pay rises (for the non-management staff). Every year more and more jobs were "bestshored." This year he survived the redundancies after his part was de-merged from the main company (effectively back to being EDS again) but managed to find a better job elsewhere. Just as he got his new job, there was another round and almost all of his colleagues who'd survived were laid off. He got out just in time.
So they bought a load of stuff just for the sake of it, and now they need to get rid of it...
Ho hum.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Sunday September 03 2017, @08:34PM
Classic case of too big to fail (completely). Huge corporation spends billions on an acquisition, hoping to cash in on the next big thing, then sells [theverge.com] or [recode.net] shuts [techcrunch.com] down [venturebeat.com] the [theverge.com] assets [cnn.com] at [wikipedia.org] a [cnet.com] huge [infoworld.com] loss [theguardian.com]. But they can keep on doing it because they have a lot of revenue coming in from somewhere. Well, some of them can.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday September 04 2017, @01:47AM (1 child)
That was the "synergy" period. Now's the "focus" one.
If there's no significant increase in profits, top level execs need to show activity and utter "strategic words", otherwise there's no bonus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 3, Funny) by EETech1 on Monday September 04 2017, @04:45AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4 [youtube.com]