The Unsurprising Surprise of Open Source M&A

“There must be something going around, something in the water.
That was how one commenter put it to me this week. How else to
explain the rash of open source acquisitions? From MySQL to
Covalent to Trolltech, the appetite for open source vendors appears
to be insatiable–even when the acquiring firm is itself an open
source play, as is the case in the Covalent deal. Speaking for
many, Matt Asay’s headline discussing the Trolltech acquisition
included the question: ‘Will any open-source companies be left to
change the world?’

“Tongue firmly in cheek, presumably, as Matt knows the realities
of this market as well as anyone and better than most…”

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