WRAL Tech Wire

Red Hat takeover talk heats up ahead of press conference

Red Hat's HQ

On The Web

• Red Hat press conference
• WRAL Tech Wire at Twitter - sign up today for latest news alerts

Site Search

Note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of Local Tech Wire and business editor of WRAL.com.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Someday, rumors that Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) will be bought out by a larger rival, will come true. Is that day at hand?

Rumors swirled – again – on Monday that the world’s top Linux open source developer and service provider was in the cross hairs of another firm. This time, the interested buyer was said to be SAP.

Adding fuel to the talk, Raleigh-based Red Hat said its management team will host an online press conference on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

A discussion about Red Hat’s “Technology Roadmap” is promised.

Of course, the specifics of the media event was not disclosed.

“Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” was the vague summary included in the Red Hat press announcement on Business Wire.

Eric Savitz, reporting at Barron’s, was just one of several people picking up on the latest Red Hat speculation. He cited “renewed SAP takeover chatter” as reported by TheFlyOnTheWall.com.

But Savitz expressed reservations.

“I caution that Red Hat is the frequent subject of such rumors - and to date, none have turned out to be true,” he wrote.

Forbes, meanwhile, noted: “Red Hot Call Options Ablaze With Bullish Speculation,” citing Red Hat.

The Forbes report cited “renewed takeover speculation.”

Red Hat shares opened at $32.57 and climbed quickly to $33.43 Monday before cooling off to close the day at $32.77.

The stock’s 52-week high is $33.99; its low is $22.05.

The Hatters continue to report strong profits and revenues, thus continuing to stoke the takeover talk.

Given the recent surge in high-tech mergers and acquisitions, such as the $1.5 billion battle between Dell and HP over 3Par, and big firms looking to diversify, why wouldn’t Red Hat be a promising target?

If you want to tune in the Red Hat press conference Wednesday, watch here.

Get the latest news alerts: Follow LTW at Twitter.

The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…