Canopy Group

The Canopy Group is an investment firm founded by Ray Noorda in 1992 through the Noorda Family Trust (NFT). It is headquartered in Lindon, Utah. The Canopy Group served as the parent company of various technology companies until 2012, when its technology venture arm was purchased by Signal Peak Ventures.[1] One of its most well-known members was the SCO Group. Canopy divested itself of SCO in 2005 with the settlement of the Yarro case. Today, Canopy provides real estate and rental space to high tech companies.

Yarro case

On 17 December 2004, Noorda and other shareholders ousted CEO Ralph Yarro III, CFO Darcy Mott, and corporate counsel Brent Christensen, accusing them of having defrauded the company of many millions of dollars. Yarro and the other executives sued for wrongful termination and Canopy countersued the three men. On 8 March 2005, the day before initial hearings were scheduled to begin, both parties negotiated a settlement out of court, ending the litigation. In a joint press release by the parties, Canopy agreed to relinquish ownership of all its shares in the SCO Group, transferring them to Yarro along with an undisclosed sum of money. In exchange, Canopy would regain all its shares controlled by SCO, thereby severing ties between the two companies.[2]

Management

Following Yarro's removal from the Canopy Group, Canopy subsequently appointed John Noorda and Andy Noorda, Ray Noorda's sons, to the Canopy Board of Directors. Following those appointments, John and Andy Noorda assumed control of the Canopy Group and they subsequently hired Ron Heinz of Canopy portfolio company Helius, a provider of satellite Internet technology, as managing director. Prior to his stint at Helius, Heinz was formerly the head of North American Sales for Novell, Inc. and was responsible for building several of the Canopy Group's profitable ventures.[3]

Following these changes, The Canopy Group has revitalized its portfolio and is again actively investing in Utah high technology companies and development.

List of companies Canopy has or had investments in

The Canopy Group also at one point owned a 5.7% stake in Trolltech, the company which developed Qt. After a round of investments, they withdrew those investments.[6] Canopy also divested itself of interests in Altiris in 2005.

References
  1. PEHub Administrator (2011-08-24). "Former Canopy Pros Launch Signal Peak Ventures". The PE Hub. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  2. "Canopy-Yarro Litigation". Litigation – The Cast of Characters. Groklaw. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  3. "Executive Team". Canopy Ventures. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
  4. Mims, Bob (2005-03-27). "Canopy's future uncertain, but legacy assured". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  5. Jones, Pamela (2004-02-29). "Caldera, Inc./Caldera Systems, Inc. 1998 Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement". Groklaw. Archived from the original on 2017-06-25. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  6. "Trolltech Gets Free of Canopy, SCO Ownership". Groklaw. 2005-05-24. Retrieved 2020-02-15.

Further reading
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