Linux seller Caldera International has replaced longtime Chief Executive Ransom Love and agreed to buy back shares held by two major investors.
Darl McBride, formerly president of the online planning business of Franklin Covey, which sells calendars, planning software, handheld computers and training materials, will now lead Caldera, the company said Thursday.
Lindon, Utah-based Caldera was one of the first companies to benefit from early investor enthusiasm around the Linux operating system. But recently the 8-year-old company has been struggling through declining revenue, sustained unprofitability, layoffs and the threat of Nasdaq delisting.
Caldera had hoped in 2001 to boost its position by acquiring the Unix products from Tarantella, formerly the Santa Cruz Operation. Instead, the move increased expenses and failed to provide the expected gains.
Two major investors, Tarantella and MTI Technology, have been seeking to sell their shares in Caldera since July 2001. On Tuesday, Caldera announced it would buy those shares back--about 4.4 million shares, or 31 percent of Caldera's outstanding stock--for $4.1 million.
The stock sale is expected to close in July. As a result, Tarantella and MTI will lose their seats on the board, and Caldera no longer will have to share with Tarantella its revenues from sales of OpenServer product.
Love now will lead Caldera's UnitedLinux work, a movement to ally Caldera with SuSE, TurboLinux and Conectiva--three other companies that sell Linux, a clone of the Unix operating system.
UnitedLinux is widely viewed as an effort by second-tier Linux companies to gain the critical mass held by Linux leader Red Hat, but industry watchers are skeptical it will triumph.
Caldera's stock, which had plunged Wednesday from 77 cents to close at 60 cents, regained some of those losses Thursday, rising to 75 cents in midday trading.
Linux began as a hobby nearly 11 years ago. But through the efforts of a host of programmers sharing the software, it has expanded to hold a place alongside Windows and Unix at the world's largest computer makers. Profits, however, have been more elusive. The operating system is chiefly used on powerful, networked server computers, not on the desktops and laptops used by average people.
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