Novell OKs $536M Microsoft Settlement, to File New Suit
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Novell Inc. (NOVL) on Monday said it had reached a settlement with software maker Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) over antitrust issues in which Microsoft will pay it $536 million in cash, sending Novell shares 11 percent higher in pre-market trading.
In addition, Novell said it planned to file a new antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft tied to decade-old competitive practices involving Novell's WordPerfect (search) word processing software.
The agreed-upon cash settlement involved potential antitrust litigation related to Novell's NetWare (search) network operating software, which Novell once positioned as a potential competitor to Microsoft Windows operating systems software.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a separate settlement, Microsoft said it reached an agreement with the Computer & Communications Industry Association (search) under which the trade group agreed not to seek a review by the Supreme Court in its challenge to the federal court's final judgment in the U.S. government's antitrust case against Microsoft.
Massachusetts, the only state that appealed the District Court's final judgment, has indicated that it will not seek a Supreme Court review of its appeal.
CCIA and Microsoft said that under the agreement CCIA also agreed to no longer participate as an intervener on behalf of the European Commission (search) in Microsoft's appeal of the Commission's decision.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ed Black, chief executive of CCIA, said in a statement that the agreement underscored the software industry trade group's desire to address a growing number of important issues facing the industry.