SAN FRANCISCO: Novell Inc. said on Friday it is spinning off its existing
caching and content networking division as a new company called Volera, and that
telecommunications equipment giant Nortel Networks Inc. and business consultancy
Accenture will take minority stakes.
Provo, Utah-based Novell said the new company would sell products and
services that help accelerate the distribution of multimedia content, such as
video clips and music, on the Internet. The agreements calls for the three firms
to provide Volera with more than $80 million in cash and consulting services,
according to a statement.
Novell will retain a majority interest in Volera. It has no plans to sell
shares to the public, though an initial public offer in the long-term has
already been approved by Novell's board, according to the statement.
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.