Ottawa's Corel Corporation might be taken private ... again.

The local developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software announced Friday it had received an unsolicited proposal from Corel Holdings, L.P. (CHLP), a company controlled by an affiliate of Vector Capital Corporation, to buy its outstanding shares.

Corel refused to comment immediately on the proposal, but said it was considering all its options in a release.

"There can be no assurance that any transaction will be completed or, if completed, of its terms, price or timing," a statement read.

CHLP currently owns 69 per cent of Corel's outstanding common shares, but is offering to buy the remaining 31 per cent at a price of US$11 per share.

In August, 2003, Vector won an Ontario court ruling that allowed the San Francisco-based venture capital firm to purchase the 80 per cent of Corel common stock that it didn't already own for US$1.05 a share, or $97.6 million.

In the spring of 2006, Corel went public again, with an IPO consisting of 6.5 million shares at US$16 apiece. The offering includes five million common shares sold by Corel and 1.5 million shares sold by Vector Capital and Jasc.

Corel said CHLP's offer was conditional upon "satisfactory confirmatory due diligence and Corel's existing credit facility remaining in place following the consummation of any transaction."

Corel's board of directors assigned independent board members Ian Giffen, Steven Cohen and Daniel Ciporin to a special committee to assist in evaluating and responding to the CHLP proposal.

Corel's stock is traded on both the TSX and the NASDAQ.

Corel has more than 100 million users worldwide in 75 countries, with a

Product portfolio that includes CorelDRAW, Paint Shop Pro, WordPerfect, WinZip and WinDVD.

Corel's CEO, David Dobson, was recently chosen as the OBJ's CEO of the Year for 2007. Click here to read a profile of Mr. Dobson.