AT&T is valuing Unix System Laboratories at $325m, according to the prospectus it has left with potential investors. The spin-off of 20% to 30% of the Laboratories is estimated to be worth between $65m and $97.5m, and the equity sale will advance further later this week when Laboratories’ management is expecting to receive signed investment agreements from those companies it has asked to become co-owners of Unix. Currently even these managers do not know what amount of the company any of the potential investors will opt to buy. AT&T, however, has limited the total amount of ownership any other company can buy to 4.8%. It is believed Fujitsu could attempt to exert greater influence by buying a piece itself and voting that in concert with stock reportedly being bought by Amdahl and ICL, companies it also owns a considerable chunk of. The Laboratories is scheduling its first post-sale board meeting with new directors in tow for mid-March. Ten percent of the stock is earmarked for Laboratories’ employees, but our sister publication Unigram X understands that AT&T gets to vote those shares at board meetings. Laboratories president Larry Dooling said that after this initial buy-in – and assuming that AT&T sells off the full 30% right away – the sale of further tranches are already being contemplated that will allow companies to buy in that currently might not have enough cash to let them take an equity stake. It is still in AT&T’s game plan to offer Unix Systems Laboratories in a public flotation in about two years time.
