Novell and UNIX System Laboratories create Univel

Joint venture company chartered to simplify and distribute standard UNIX System

Business Wire

December 12, 1991

NEW YORK -- Novell, Inc., developer of NetWare(R) systems software, and UNIX System Laboratories (USL), Inc., developer of the UNIX(R) System V operating system, Thursday announced creation of Univel, a joint venture company formed to accelerate the expanded use of easy-to-use UNIX systems in the network computing marketplace.

``There are clear customer needs for a mature, stable, well developed, general purpose applications platform like UNIX System V that encompasses the desktop, applications servers on computer networks, and host computer systems,'' said Raymond J. Noorda, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Novell. ``Novell is committed to meeting this need. Through Univel, Novell and USL will bring an end user customer focus to the UNIX system, making it easier to use while significantly expanding its availability throughout worldwide distribution channels.''

Roel Pieper, president and chief executive officer of USL, said, ``Univel opens a new era in the growth of the UNIX system by making its power and security accesssible and available on market-leading microprocessor platforms. Univel products will set the standard for the UNIX System at the desktop and will help attract thousands of additional applications to 32-bit operating system environments, including those built around the Intel ix86 chip architecture.''

Novell and USL are contributing cash and technology rights to Univel. Novell holds a 55 percent share in the new company. Although specific financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed, the companies acknowledged that Univel has been underwritten with $30 million cash and other assets. In addition, the joint venture will have access to technical resources and the education, training, sales, marketing and distribution capabilities of the parent companies.

Novell and USL expect Univel to respond to customer needs with streamlined UNIX System V Release 4.1 operating system products. The companies anticipate that Univel's products will enable computer users to run UNIX applications on standard hardware and utilize the UNIX system as a scalable applications environment across computer networks. Product development is intended to tightly integrate NetWare network services from Novell with the UNIX SVR4 applications platform.

Novell's NetWare provides network services that integrate DOS, OS/2, Macintosh and UNIX desktop computers with each other and with host computer systems from leading UNIX system vendors, and from other companies including Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard and IBM. UNIX SVR4 unites all major UNIX system derivatives into a single, standard product that supports all major system integration standards, including POSIX, IEEE, X/Open's Portability Guide Issue 3, the System V Interface Definition, the Intel SVR4 Application Binary Interface and the Intel Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.

Univel's initial products will be announced and begin shipping to computer users in 1992. They will be available through computer product distributors, systems integrators and resellers worldwide. They will also be made available from computer manufacturers under OEM agreements. The new company will be headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

The appointment of three key Univel executives was announced. Joel A. Appelbaum has been named president and chief executive officer of Univel. Grover P. Righter has been named vice president product group. Gregory R. Fallon has been named vice president sales and channel management.

Appelbaum previously had been executive vice president, Open Solution Software, at USL. Before joining USL in 1990, he was vice president for AT&T's network computing product line and director, Venture Technologies at AT&T Corporate. He served at Bell Laboratories for more than 16 years in both research and management positions, including director, Strategic Planning.

Righter formerly headed UNIX system efforts within Novell's Interoperability Systems Group. He joined Novell in 1988 and has held software engineering and product development management positions at the company, including director of NetWare development and director UNIX system products.

Fallon was formerly channel marketing director for International Operations at Novell. He joined Novell in 1989 through the Novell/Excelan merger. He had been business development group manager at Kinetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Excelan. Prior to joining Kinetics, Fallon had fifteen years of sales experience in the computer industry.

Univel will be overseen by a five person board that includes Appelbaum, two additional nominees from Novell and two nominees from USL.

UNIX System Laboratories, Inc., headquartered in Summit, N.J., develops and markets the UNIX System V operating system and other Open Systems software, including the TUXEDO(R) Enterprise Transaction Processing System, Open Networking Platform(R) OSI technology, and the C++ Programming Language System, to the worldwide computer industry.

Novell, Inc., (NASDAQ:NOVL) is an operating system software company, the developer of network-services and specialized and general purpose operating system software products including NetWare, DR DOS, DR Multiuser DOS, and Flex OS. Novell's NetWare network computing products manage and control the sharing of services, data and applications among computer workgroups, departmental networks and business-wide information systems. NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. UNIX, TUXEDO and Open Networking Platform are registered trademarks of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.

CONTACT: UNIX System Laboratories, Inc., Summit Dick Muldoon, 908/522-6274 or Novell, Inc., San Jose, Calif. Susan Lider, 408/473-8665 09:03 ET