SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In a move to bolster its offerings, struggling server maker Sun Microsystems Inc. said Tuesday it will acquire remote-access software maker Tarantella Inc. for about $25 million in cash.
Tarantella builds programs that allow organizations to access and manage information, data and applications across all platforms, networks and devices.
The company, based in Santa Cruz, Calif., has about 100 employees and posted a loss of $16 million on sales of $12.5 million in 2004.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory clearance and the approval of Tarantella's shareholders, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of Sun's 2006 fiscal year. Sun said it will pay 90 cents per share and assume employee stock options.
Tarantella was originally known as the Santa Cruz Operation, which was focused on the Unix operating system developed by AT&T Corp. starting in the late 1960s. In 1995, it acquired the rights to Unix from Novell Inc., which had bought them from AT&T.
In 2001, the Santa Cruz Operation sold its Unix-related businesses to Linux operating system distributor Caldera Inc., which would later become the SCO Group Inc. The Santa Cruz company that remained became Tarantella.
In recent years, Lindon-based SCO has claimed elements of the Linux operating system contain code from its Unix technology. The largest of its claims, against IBM Corp., is being handled in a federal court in Utah.
Shares of Sun fell 6 cents to close at $3.79 Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Tarantella shares, which now trade over the counter, gained 3.7 percent, up 3.1 cents, to close at 86.1 cents.