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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The networking software company Novell Inc. has moved its corporate headquarters from Provo, Utah, to Waltham, Mass.
The action was mentioned briefly in a routine financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Company spokesman Bruce Lowry said Wednesday that the official designation of Waltham as Novell's headquarters merely recognizes what has been fact since the company's acquisition of Massachusetts-based Cambridge Technical Partners in July 2001.
"This is not Novell abandoning Utah, nor (are we) withdrawing from the state. This just reflects a situation that has existed for some time now," he said.
"Most of our executives are there, and our board of directors meets there," Lowry said. Jack Messman, Novell chief executive and board chairman, headed Cambridge prior to its union with Novell.
With more recent acquisitions, including last month's $210 million deal for German Linux distributor SuSE, the new corporate headquarters designation also "reflects Novell's growth into a more global company," he said.
The company said the action will not affect the company's 2,000 Utah County employees, who account for roughly one-third of Novell's international work force.
"This doesn't involve any change of personnel or move out of Provo in any way, or any changes in day-to-day activities," Lowry said. "Utah definitely is and remains our largest facility, and we are first to recognize Utah's technology atmosphere and work force have been critical factors in our development."
Amanda Covington, press secretary for Gov. Olene Walker, said, "We are obviously saddened, but at the same time Novell still has business here and Utah still has a big future in technology."
Provo Mayor Lewis Billings said it may have been inevitable that Novell would come to view Waltham as its administrative center.
"I'm glad, though, that they have reaffirmed their commitment to Provo," he said. "What's really important to me is that the brain trust, the heart and soul of Novell, remains right here in Utah."
Novell closed on the Nasdaq exchange Wednesday at $12.71 per share, up 35 cents from Tuesday.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
