Serena Software appears to have woken from its dreamy web 2.0 mash-up hiatus and begun circling over the remains of ALM competitor Borland Software.

While the soon-to-be-acquired Borland awaits digestion by MicroFocus, Serena intends to poach some customers during the process.

"We have heard that Borland customers are concerned about the future of Borland and its products," sniped Serena vice president of marketing Rene Bonvanie in a statement. "Serena is offering a practical, safe approach to help Borland customers move now to our industry leading ALM solution, which was recently enhanced and has a strong product roadmap."

The promotion does seem to dispel the rumor that Serena is the mystery bidder that's forced MicroFocus to raise its offered price for Borland from $1.00 per share, or $75m, to $1.50 a share, or $113m. Or perhaps - mind the tinfoil hat - its a nefarious plot to make MicroFocus pay more while keeping an alibi. Is Serena that vicious? You tell me.

Borland's shareholders will vote on the deal July 22, so we'll have to wait until then to see if Bidder X ups the ante or gets unmasked. ®

Related stories

• Mystery rival forces Borland bidding war (1 July 2009)
• Ex-Borland's Delphi owner re-ignites cross-platform dream (12 June 2009)
• Brit software group swallows Borland for $67m (6 May 2009)
• Oracle trims sales, marketing, and back office staff? (13 January 2009)
• Serena promises dev teams shorter hours (6 December 2007)