I think you and the register are inflating this "conspiracy theory" levels. The facts are all really simple.
SCO was attacking Linux. Microsoft was attacking Linux. SCO asked for money. Microsoft gave the enemy of their enemy money. Other companies SCO asked for money didn't give SCO money
Trying to assert that a whole company was another's puppet is a bit extreme, but if SCO had been the results wouldn't really have been much different.
It's more complicated than you seem to think -- and the reality also includes IBM. However, I was simply responding to the top-of-the-page cliche that it was "the company that bankrolled SCO in their lawsuit", which otherwise seemed to be going unquestioned.
SCO was attacking Linux. Microsoft was attacking Linux. SCO asked for money. Microsoft gave the enemy of their enemy money. Other companies SCO asked for money didn't give SCO money
Trying to assert that a whole company was another's puppet is a bit extreme, but if SCO had been the results wouldn't really have been much different.