Q3 2008 Development Tools Transactions

Intel acquires OpenedHand

Intel has acquired London-based Linux developer OpenedHand. In a statement, OpenHand said that it will be joining Intel's Open Source Technology Centre and will focus on the development of the Moblin Software Platform, an optimized software stack for Intel Atom processors. The Atom processor is the chip that Intel hopes will underpin a new generation of mobile internet devices. The chip has already found success in the new netbook form factor and is used in devices such as the Acer Aspire One and MSI's Wind U100. OpenedHand said that in conjunction with the Intel deal it would continue to work on its existing projects such as Clutter and Matchbox. Matchbox is a GPL-licensed base environment for the X Window System targeting mobile platforms with small displays and low system resources, and was used by in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) machine.

Announcement Date: September 2, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed

Aptana acquires Pydev

Aptana Inc., a provider of infrastructure for Web 2.0 application development and management, acquired Pydev, a highly popular Eclipse-based development environment for the Python software language. Interest in Python has been steadily growing and got a big boost earlier this year when Google announced that Python was the language for the Google App Engine. The combination of Pydev with Aptana Studio, which is approaching 2.3 million downloads, will bring Aptana's excellence in Ajax development ease to the Python community and bring Python support to Aptana's product lines. The move further reinforces Aptana's leadership in open source products and related services for organizations who use dynamic web application languages such as Ajax/JavaScript, Ruby/Ruby on Rails, PHP, and Python. Google is also a worldwide licensee of the commercial version of Pydev, Pydev Extensions, which includes even more high-productivity features for Python developers.

Announcement Date: August 26, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed

Micro Focus acquires Liant

Micro Focus International has acquired Liant Software Corporation. Liant is a provider of software tools for developing business information systems and solutions to help transform existing business applications and processes into modern and robust distributed application software systems. Liant’s technology is highly complementary to Micro Focus’ business, and the acquisition provides the opportunity for Micro Focus to expand its portfolio of Enterprise Application Management solutions, especially to include additional programming language capabilities, such as PL/I.

Announcement Date: July 22, 2008
Deal Value: $5 Million

Quark acquires In.vision Research Corporation

Quark has acquired the assets of In.vision Research Corporation, a software company that develops the industry-leading add-in to Microsoft Word for XML authoring. In.vision initially partnered with Quark to supply Xpress Author for Microsoft Word, which helps authors already familiar with Microsoft Word to easily create reusable XML content for Quark’s Dynamic Publishing Solution. This acquisition elevates Quark to the unique position of being the sole company to bring together professional design and simplified XML authoring capabilities into one single integrated system. In addition, this acquisition will enable Quark to support Microsoft Word users within all types of workflows, both desktop and enterprise. As part of this acquisition, Quark also gains products that support industry standards such as DITA (widely used for documentation) and SPL (Structured Product Labeling, an initiative of the U.S. FDA), which helps Quark access other markets and applications.

Announcement Date: July 17, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed

Aeroflex buys Gaisler Research AB

Aeroflex Inc., a supplier of RF and broadband technology for aerospace, defense and communications applications, has acquired privately held Gaisler Research AB (Gothenburg, Sweden). Established in 2001 by a former European Space Agency engineer, the Gaisler core design team has in-house design facilities for microprocessor, ASIC and field programmable gate array-based designs. This strategic acquisition provides Aeroflex with immediate improvement and synergy in its IP, software, and microprocessor design expertise, product solutions and technology roadmaps.

Announcement Date: July 15, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed

Xandros acquires Linspire

Xandros, Inc., provider of custom OEM Linux solutions, next-generation Linux desktop and server products, and advanced cross-platform Windows-Linux management tools, acquired Linspire, developer of the CNR software distribution facility, and the Linspire and Freespire Linux desktop operating systems. The combination of the technologies, expertise, and market presence of the two companies supports Xandros' mission to become a powerful one-stop Linux solutions company. With this acquisition, Xandros further enhances its ability to meet the needs of a growing number of Linux and mobile users for one-click software delivery to update and enhance their devices. While Xandros didn’t mention their total employee numbers, Xandros’ CEO claims Xandros to be the third largest Linux company in the world after the acquisition. Linspire once gained notoriety when they were known as Lindows until eventually settling with Microsoft under an agreement to change their name and to accept an estimated $24 million to transfer ownership of Lindows.

Announcement Date: July 2, 2008
Deal Value: Undisclosed