Mandriva announced today that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Linbox FAS
("Linbox"). The agreement remains subject to shareholders approval.
Linbox was founded as Free and Alter Soft in 1996. Subsequently, it acquired the assets of Linbox in 2001 and has been operating under the Linbox FAS name since that time. Based in Lorraine and in Paris, the company has 12 employees. 2005 revenues were $844,000 with approximately break-even net results. For 2006, Linbox expects 20% growth and a positive net result.
Active in both Open Source and Linux market for 10 years, Linbox develops and markets software infrastructure administration products for medium to large organizations. The software products marketed by the company encompass authentication, back up and asset management, and more. Linbox has two flagship products, Linbox Directory Server ("LDS") and Linbox Rescue Server ("LRS"). Its major customers include Renault, EADS, Arcelor and multiple French ministries. Linbox has an expert technical team based in Metz, approximately 2 hours from Paris by high speed train.
The definitive agreement includes the acquisition of all shares of Linbox for a total amount of $1.739 million in Mandriva stock, plus an earn out of up to $401,000 based on the 2006 Linbox financials.
The acquisition is driven by the multiple synergies between the two companies, particularly by the synergy between the Mandriva Pulse enterprise software deployment and management product, and the Linbox LRS and LDS authentication, back up, and asset management solutions. The product sets are complementary, and substantial cross selling on the installed bases is expected. The technical teams are preparing a technology integration plan to create a more comprehensive product offering. Finally, both companies are committed leaders in the open source business community.
"This acquisition is consistent with Mandriva's external growth plans. It reinforces our enterprise strategy, by enriching our product and technology portfolio, and by bringing to critical mass our enterprise team" said François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandriva.
"We look forward to joining the Mandriva team. This agreement will allow us to address new customers and markets that we could not reach because of our current size. It will also allow us to address international markets" said Eric Thomas, CEO of Linbox.