SCO out of Chapter 11 and continuing its lawsuits

The SCO Group has made an announcement of a comprehensive reorganisation under which it plans to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings under Chapter 11. An injection of finance amounting to 100 million US dollars by an investment group led by Steve Norris Capital Partners (SNCP) and some unnamed lenders from the Near East is to enable the company to resume trading, "including seeing its legal claims through to their full conclusion".

In return for the finance, the investors will gain a controlling majority in the SCO Group, taking the company private following the closure of Chapter 11 proceedings. An immediate injection of finance worth $5m is to enable the SCO Group can meet the claims of its creditors. A loan of a further $95m will be repaid from future profits. The investors led by Steve Norris are obviously putting their money on the ongoing disputes between the SCO Group and Novell, IBM and Red Hat.

Judging by his web site, Steve Norris is evidently very well connected: his clients include Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, the fifth richest person in the world with assets of approximately $25bn. He has specialised in the "rescue of companies in distress". His greatest coup was his entry into Citibank. Alwaleed worked openly together with Steve Norris to rescue the Four Seasons hotel chain. Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding company and Bill Gates' Cascade Investments firm now hold 45 per cent of Four Seasons each. Ten per cent is held by the original hotel owners, the Sharp family.

(jbe)