MandrakeSoft Declares Bankruptcy

[Agent007]

By Timothy R. Butler
Editor-in-Chief, Open for Business
January 15, 2003, 12:48:44 EST

Linux Distributions
MandrakeSoft, the developer of the popular Mandrake Linux distribution, declared bankruptcy in France today. The filling, which the company says is "similar to the U.S. Chapter 11-Reorganization," is hoped to help the company escape the financial issues that have plagued the company over the past few years.

Editor's Note: Several people have suggested that this article gives the impression that MandrakeSoft has gone out of business. This is definitely not the case. The company is hoping to use these proceedings to escape various debts so that it can continue operations.

This announcement seems to be the culmination of rumors over the past few days about the future of MandrakeSoft. Earlier this week various media outlets reported that an internal memo from Chairman and former CEO Jacques Le Marois, that discussed an upcoming bankruptcy filling, was circulating. As late as yesterday, company co-founder Ga

[dot.this]

I wonder what went wrong. Companies like SuSE, Caldera, and Lycoris are doing just fine (I think). I've heard people rave about how good Mandrake is, and it's a well-known distro. It's just strange that they're bankrupt. Perhaps there are financial irregularities, or the management paid themselves exorbitant salaries...

[TheQuirk]

Uh, Caldera had some very big financial issues. It had to close down a lot of offices and lay off a lot of employees. Don't know about SuSe or Lycoris, though.

[pkd_lives]

SuSE made some big layoffs in the States last year (although they are expanding again in the states, and hope to employ more people).

It's simple the bean counters were given control at Mandrake, as a result it became pure profit driven instead of the slow and steady path that would have had them in a better positon today. Of course this is my opinion, after perusing various documents put up on their site.

[preacher]

Its too bad about this. Mandrake really is a good distribution of linux, and even better in some ways than red hat. I think the main problem is their focus on the desktop. Red Hat and SuSe are foucusing on the server market and the enterprise and that is where you can find the real profits. The desktop market in linux just can't fight with microsoft yet.

[UODU]

G'day guys,

I have made I think a relevant supporting post under my 'Mandrake Linux 9.0 on my Laptop?' Post


Regards
Braindead

[emh]

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  What Mandrakesoft is experiencing is actually a short-term cash flow problem, and they state that their prospects for future profits are actually very good.  At least from what I understand, this isn't a filing for bankruptcy, it's just a way to get an extension on some short-term financial difficulties.

[dot.this]

There are different kinds of bankruptcy. The laws are a little different in France, but the principle is the same. This isn't the "sell everything and close the doors" bankruptcy. It's the "restructure our debt so we have some cashflow again" kind of bankruptcy. The same kind that K-Mart is in.

BTW, the bosses always say the future is rosy. It helps prop up the stock price.

[choasforages]

dun dun dun, and another one cooks the books, and another one cooks the books.....