Mandriva signs definitive agreement to acquire Linbox, an infrastructure software editor of the Linux market.
Paris, France, Sao Paulo, Brazil & San Diego, California, October 5, 2006. Mandriva announced today it signed a definitive agreement concerning the acquisition of Linbox FAS. This agreement remains subject to shareholders approval. An extraordinary shareholder meeting will be called shortly to put the resolution to vote.
Free and Alter Soft was founded in 1996, acquired the assets of Linbox in 2001 and since then does business under the name "Linbox FAS". Based in Lorraine and in Paris, the company has ten employees. In 2005, revenue were $844K and break even. In 2006, the company expects a 20% growth and a positive net result.
Active on the Open Source and Linux market for about 10 years, the company develops and markets software solutions for the administration of software infrastructure for medium and large organizations. These solution covers, among others, authentication, back up and asset management. Its two flagship products are LRS (Linbox Rescue Server) and LDS (Linbox Directory Server). Its customers include Renault SA, EADS and Arcelor. It has a strong technical team based in Metz.
The definitive agreement includes the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Linbox for a total amount of $1.739M in Mandriva stock, and an earn out of a maximum of $401K based on the 2006 Linbox financials.
The acquisition is motivated by the multiple synergies between the two companies: Mandriva positioned itself on the market of tele-distribution of software for large organizations, in particular with its Pulse product. Pulse and the Linbox products are complementary and some cross selling on the installed bases is expected. The technical teams will propose a plan to integrate both technologies into a more comprehensive product. Finally, the two companies are equally committed to the open source business model and distribute their products under the GPL license.
" This acquisition is consistent with Mandriva's external growth plans. It reinforces our enterprise strategy, by enriching our product and technology portfolio and bringing to critical mass our enterprise dedicated staff " said François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandriva.
" We look forward to joining the Mandriva team. This agreement will allow us to address new customers and market we could not reach because of our current size. It will also allow us to address international markets " said Eric Thomas, CEO of Linbox.
About Mandriva
Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft, is the publisher of the popular Mandriva Linux operating system, one of the most full-featured and easy to use Linux systems. The company offers its enterprise, government, and educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and open source software and related services. Mandriva products are available in more than 140 countries through dedicated channels and also from Mandriva Store, the company's on line store. Founded in 1998, the company has offices in the United States, France and Brazil. Mandriva is traded on Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA). http://www.mandriva.com
Mandriva contact
François Bancilhon/Thierry Bossut
investors at mandriva dot com
Phone +33 1 40 41 00 41
Linbox contact
Eric Thomas
+33 3 87 50 87 90
