Novell Buys SilverStream

In an effort to boost its comeback play, Novell Inc. on Monday announced an agreement to acquire SilverStream Software Inc.

The Provo, Utah, company said the SilverStream acquisition is part of its plan to be a leader in the Web services arena, where SilverStream offers a Web services-oriented application development environment.

The deal is valued at about $212 million and is expected to close in July, the companies said.

In a statement, Jack Messman, chairman, president and CEO of Novell, said with the deal, Novell “is now well positioned to be a leader in the emerging and fast-growing market for Web services solutions.”

Added Messman: “We promised wed move aggressively into the Web services space. With the acquisition of SilverStream, we will have not only achieved that goal, we will have jumped ahead of the competition. By providing the next generation of Web services solutions to our customers, we move Novell further along the path toward growth and profitability.”

The addition of SilverStreams eXtend application server and supporting products that Web-enable enterprise systems puts Novell right into the thick of things, the company said.

“This acquisition will make Novell a meaningful player in the Web services game, right next to others who are pursuing a services strategy, like IBM, Microsoft [Corp.] and Sun [Microsystems Inc.],” Chris Stone, vice chairman of Novell, said in a statement. “But were coming at this market from a different place. Instead of a monolithic approach based on proprietary products that others have adopted, Novell is focused on offering a cost-effective, flexible alternative that allows products of all vendors to work together.”

Novell has been instrumental in driving open standards for Web services. Last week the company announced its participation in the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) Advisory Group. The group promotes UDDI specifications, which provide the vehicle for organizing and managing Web services. And last month, Novell submitted a draft specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force outlining an approach for putting UDDI information into a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory.

Meanwhile, Novell said that after the SilverStream deal closes, the companys eXtend product line will be rebranded under the Novell name. And David Litwack, president and CEO of SilverStream, of Billerica, Mass., will join Novell as a senior vice president and become part of the companys Worldwide Management Committee.