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OpenText: We’re Not Acquiring Micro Focus

OpenText late on October 18 released a statement saying that it was not considering a potential acquisition of Micro Focus.

The statement surfaced after Bloomberg speculated a deal may be brewing. Micro Focus shares rose nearly 7 percent today amid the takeover rumors on October 18.

The snuffed-out takeover rumors follow chatter in September 2019 that suggested private equity firms may want to acquire Micro Focus's Arcsight and Fortify security software units, according to DealReporter sources. At the time, interested parties apparently included Carlyle, Veritas and KKR.

Micro Focus has struggled to monetize acquired enterprise software from a range of companies -- particularly various software offerings that HP Enterprise previously owned. As a result, Micro Focus had a CEO change amid turbulence on Wall Street in 2018.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.