SCO Group chief ousted in restructuring

LINDON — Darl McBride is out as leader of SCO Group Inc., a technology company deeply involved in litigation and in the midst of bankruptcy.

McBride was terminated as president and chief executive officer as part of a restructuring announced Monday. The actions followed an analysis of the company's operations and cost structure that was undertaken by Chapter 11 trustee Edward Cahn and his advisers, the company said.

The company will make other changes, including a "modest" reduction in its work force.

Lindon-based SCO has been involved with litigation against Novell about ownership of the Unix computer operating system and against IBM for alleged misappropriation of Unix source code into Linux.

In a news release Monday, the company said it expects to complete the details of the restructuring and to reach cash flow break-even for core operations within the next month.

The current management team — chief operating officer Jeff Hunsaker, chief financial officer Ken Nielsen and general counsel Ryan Tibbitts — will continue to work closely with Cahn and his advisers "to implement the restructuring plan, move the intellectual property litigation forward … and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy," the company said.

SCO also is trying to raise funding and sell non-core assets to bolster working capital. "These actions will allow the trustee to preserve cash and the value of the business while enabling the company to proceed with asset sales, pursue litigation against, among others, IBM and Novell, and to continue supporting SCO's loyal Unix customer base," the release said.