Although Santa Cruz Operation Inc executives were on hand last week to try and dampen speculation that they’ve been hawking the company to potential buyers – and we’ve heard SunSoft Inc, Novell Inc and even Computer Associates International Inc mentioned in dispatches that go back many months – our sources indicate that as recently as last month the same executives were over at SunSoft trying to shop the Santa Cruz, California Unix-on-iAPX-86 company. The fact that reports of talks between the two firms are now so widespread isn’t really surprising given that Santa Cruz has apparently been making similar approaches at regular intervals for the last 18 months or so. So, how come it’s still independent? Santa Cruz’s problem, said our source, is that it owns no technology and has an installed base that won’t grow any bigger. Founders are also said to be looking for between $12 and $15 a share, while the company is trading at between $5 and $6 currently. Now at the right price, they say, a deal could easily be struck…
