VMWare is eying Novell's software division and with that comes the SuSE distribution. If VMWare does gobble it up, this would mean that it can have a total Linux solution for their platform without having additional pay layers (like Windows for some of their products). They can also use their own Linux platform for bare metal support instead of what they are doing now (which is Linux-like).
Novell really screwed up with its software products. They had the ability to really dominate many areas with Netware, but lack of effort made them waste away into nothing. Novell will probably continue to waste away after the sale and burn through the cash.