“Mandrakesoft, the number one European Linux company, today
announced a definitive agreement to acquire Conectiva, the number
one Linux company in Brazil and Latin America. This acquisition is
expected to increase significantly Mandrakesoft’s size and R&D
capabilities.
Conectiva, founded in 1995, employs 60 people and has offices in
Curitiba, São Paulo and Manaus, Brazil. The company had 1.7
million EUR (2.2 million USD) of revenues in their latest fiscal
year, and reached break-even during the latest fiscal half-year.
Conectiva has gained significant recognition for its adaptive
approach to technology development for corporations, communities
and large partners in the communication and technology sector in
Latin America.
Providing Linux services for corporations since its inception,
Conectiva has a wide range of projects including ATM and teller
solutions for financial institutions, infrastructure for the
government, and a complete range of Linux solutions sold through
major retail stores in Brazil. Conectiva’s technical achievements
are also well known in the worldwide Linux community. Among them,
the RPM port of apt-get (apt-rpm) and the new Smart Package Manager
are just two examples of Conectiva’s accomplishments. In this
context, Conectiva has long been sought by larger technology and
communication industry players to develop specialized solutions,
including embedded devices.
Well-known customers include public sector and large accounts
such as HSBC, Casas Bahia, IBM, HP, Siemens, White Martins-Praxair,
Generali, and the Brazilian Army, Navy and Air Force. Examples of
large deployments by Conectiva include 15,000 desktops and 800
servers in the São Paulo public schools. Conectiva also has
a strong position in the training business, training more than
15,000 people each year through its network of partners throughout
Brazil.
Mandrakesoft, founded in 1998, is the internationally recognized
number one European Linux company. Mandrakesoft has built its
business by designing and delivering user-friendly Linux products
to both individuals and businesses, building a user base of more
than 4 million users. In its latest fiscal year, Mandrakesoft’s
revenues reached 5.18 million EUR (6.7 million USD) for a net
income of 1.39 million EUR (1.8 million USD).
Mandrakesoft is also recognized as offering increasingly strong
business solutions in both Europe and the USA. These solutions
include server and desktop products for corporations, dedicated
support, training, and online services such as Mandrakeclub and
Mandrakeonline. Mandrakesoft’s customers include such prestigious
corporations as Carrefour, France Telecom, HP, Macif, Total,
Verizon, and many government agencies including several French
ministries.
Mandrakesoft is acquiring all shares of Conectiva for a total
amount of 1.79 million EUR (2.3 million USD) in stock.
Both Mandrakesoft and Conectiva are profitable companies. The
resulting corporation will benefit from several synergies by
sharing development resources, commercial prospects and larger
economies of scale, resulting in improved development potential for
both companies.
“This merger is a great opportunity for Mandrakesoft and
Conectiva. It is clear that it will strengthen us by creating
commercial and technological value”, said Jaques Rosenzvaig, CEO of
Conectiva. “The merger also positions the resulting company as a
leading worldwide provider of Linux.”
“Combining the two businesses enables us to extend the scope of
our offering and address more businesses by compounding development
and commercial assets, resulting in strong synergies”, added
François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandrakesoft. “Mandrakesoft and
Conectiva are dedicated to delivering innovative and quality
products with a high level of personalized services to our
customers. Our aggregated strengths will enhance extensive
deployments, thus providing greater opportunity for continued
expansion.”
Conectiva’s acquisition is in line with Mandrakesoft’s strategy
to expand through both organic and external growth. Besides the
commercial potential to address the Latin American market, the
choice of Conectiva was strongly based on the cultural fit which
exists between the two companies.
Mandrakesoft and Conectiva are both founding Members of the
Linux Core Consortium (LCC), which has recently started development
of a common implementation of the Linux Standard Base. The combined
companies will build their next corporate releases on top of the
LCC implementation.