“Turbolinux, a provider of high-performance Linux bundled with
commercial software, has signed a letter of intent to acquire
Linuxcare, a San Francisco-based provider of training, support and
integration services for Linux users. News of the Brisbane-based
company’s planned acquisition first became public on a posting to
the web site Linuxnews.com. A spokeswoman for Linuxcare confirmed
there is a signed letter of intent, but said a deal has not yet
been finalized.”
“Details of the deal, which is expected to be a stock swap, are
still being negotiated. Paul Thomas, CEO of Turbolinux, will
continue to head the company, a source familiar with the
negotiations said. There is no indication yet as to what if any
layoffs would follow a merger, although there is some duplication
between the staffs. Turbolinux has about 250 employees and
Linuxcare has about 150.”
“Both companies have looked at acquisition targets or being
acquired. Right now there is a push on scale,” said the source.
“You’ve got to be a decent-sized player in this market to be viable
going forward. You have to start ramping the top line revenues to
be taken seriously in the public markets and you have to scale in
order to take care of your big customers.”