In a series of securities filings today, Opsware provided additional background for its merger with Hewlett-Packard. Among the most interesting revelations is that at one point at least 11 companies expressed interest in buying the data center software company.
Despite all the suitors, the company initially had trouble getting a bid it would consider. Most companies weren’t willing to pay more than $11 a share for the company that was founded by Silicon Valley poster boy Mark Andreessen.
The company pretty much told everyone to forget it, even though it was nervous about the pending public offering by an unnamed competitor (probably BladeLogic). But eventually, companies started knocking on its door again, including HP. Pretty soon, the bidding came down to HP and another company, who bid the price up to $14.25 per share, the final price when the deal was announced on July 23.
Two other interesting notes: While the company was weighing various offers and holding discussions, board members were awarded 25,000 options priced at $9.28 on June 26, the day of the shareholders’ meeting. This included Simon Lorne, William Campbell, Michael Ovitz and Michelangelo Volpi.
But it didn’t include Mike Homer — a board member who resigned on May 21 for “personal reasons.”
