Will Oracle buy Novell?

BOSTON — Business software provider Oracle Corp. is considering plans to offer its own version of the Linux operating system and has studied an acquisition of Novell Inc., the open-source operating system's No. 2 distributor, according to a newspaper report Monday.

Novell shares rose 2.3 percent in Monday trading, while rival Red Hat Inc. fell 6.7 percent.

Massachusetts-based Novell has about one-third of its 5,700-person work force in Provo.

Oracle sells databases and other business applications, and by offering a version of the Linux operating system, it would be able to provide customers with a more complete suite of software. Rivals such as Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp. commonly tout the benefits of these packages, called "stacks."

Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison, told the Financial Times that the company might launch its own version of Linux and has considered buying Linux distributor Novell. That could help counter leading Linux vendor Red Hat, which just announced a $350 million acquisition of JBoss Inc., a maker of open-source "middleware," which connects varying applications.

"I don't think Oracle and IBM want another Microsoft in Red Hat," Ellison told the Financial Times.

A spokesman for Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., did not return a call seeking comment. Representatives of Novell, based in Waltham, Mass., and Red Hat, based in Raleigh, N.C., declined to comment, as did an IBM spokesman.

Oracle shares rose 6 cents to close at $13.74 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Novell had gained 17 cents to $7.68. Red Hat fell $2.04 to finish at $28.51.