“The company announced today it plans to buy 3 million shares of
Lineo, an embedded Linux solution developer, for $22.5m
(£14m).”
“Its acquisition of eight percent of the company’s issued shares
will take place through Motorola’s wholly owned subsidiary
Metrowerks.”
“A company spokesman said Motorola was committed to establishing
Linux as the open platform choice for embedded development,
particularly as its customers require increasingly more complex
capabilities in embedded devices.”
“Al Gillan, an analyst for IDC, welcomed the announcement,
saying the ongoing commitment by the big players was further good
news for the embedded Linux community. “This deal will allow
Motorola to influence Lineo [through Metrowerks] to cooperate and
work on projects that are beneficial to it,” Gillan said. “As
Motorola doesn’t sell its own operating system, this deal will help
boost the sale of its chips and products.”