Jan 15, 2003
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 Gaël Duval was
attempting damage control,
telling NewsForge that the company was considering
several different actions and that several investors had made
"offers" to the company.
The move was not totally
unexpected, with the Paris, France, developer issuing an urgent plea
for financial assistance back in December. While many had condemned
such statements from the company, it was hoped that users of the
free, downloadable version of Mandrake Linux would join the
MandrakeClub (a nice service that provides various downloads, access
to developer interviews, and, most recently, the ability to vote on
which packages should be in release 9.1) in lieu of purchasing a
shrink-wrapped version of the operating system.
According to the press release issued by MandrakeSoft earlier
today, the schedule for Mandrake Linux 9.1 should stay on course.
Incidentally, the first beta of that release was made available last
week to those interested in previewing the system's new upgrades.
In September,
Open for Business discussed
MandrakeSoft's future with Mr. Duval, an that interview you can
find
here. For further information, you can find the recent request
for financial assistance
here and
today's statement
here.
We will continue
to report the latest information as it becomes available to us.