Struggling Canadian software firm Corel Corp. on Thursday indicated that it was about to be acquired by San Franciscos Vector Capital Corp.
In March, Corel admitted that it was actively trying to find a buyer for its business and had signed a non-disclosure and standstill agreement with Vector Capital that let Vector investigate a takeover bid.
On Thursday, Corel said the negotiations with Vector Capital were continuing for a potential transaction for the acquisition of the company. Under the existing agreement between the two firms, Vector Capital has the contractual right to make an offer to Corels shareholders to purchase all common shares at a price of $1.10, but the deal appears likely to be struck below that price.
“In light of recent trading activity in Corels common shares, Corel has announced that there is a high likelihood that it will shortly enter into a definitive agreement with Vector Capital for a transaction at a price per common share which will be below US $1.10 per share and which the Board of Directors will recommend that shareholders approve.
“Corel will make a further announcement upon entering into any definitive agreement with Vector Capital or terminating discussions, whichever occurs,” the company said in a short statement released on Thursday.
Corels share price closed $0.09 cents or 8.65 percent lower at $0.95 cents on Thursday as some 4.8 million shares changed hands in trade on the Nasdaq index.
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In April the company also released the next version of its desktop productivity suite, WordPerfect Office 11, which gives users the ability to publish slideshows, spreadsheets and WordPerfect files to XML; enhance existing file-sharing options; and support the deployment of content to multiple devices, said Graham Brown, executive vice president of software development for Corel.
New file-sharing capabilities include publish-to-PDF features in WordPerfect and Presentations, suite-wide publish-to-HTML capabilities, support for the Open Document Management API, and a new conversion utility to batch convert files from formats including Microsoft Word and RTF.
WordPerfect 11 also maintains the same file format from versions as far back as 6.1-11, providing seamless access to legacy data, while new e-mail document routing capabilities and Microsoft Outlook address book connectivity will let users collaborate via Microsoft Outlook.
“Our new ZIM SMS Office integration with Quattro Pro now allows users to update spreadsheets remotely via cell phone,” Brown said.