Mandrakesoft reaches definitive agreement to acquire Edge-IT

Mandrakesoft reaches definitive agreement to acquire Edge-IT

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/press/pr?n=/pr/corporate/2487

Moreno Valley, CA ; Paris, France ; July, 1st 2004 - Mandrakesoft,
publisher of the Mandrakelinux distribution, and Edge IT a provider
of support and services in the Linux market, reached a definitive
agreement by which Mandrakesoft will acquire all outstanding shares
of Edge-IT.

Founded in 2003, by some of the key employees of Open Care, the first
European Linux support company, Edge-IT focuses on the delivery of
services and support to the corporate market in France. It has 6
employees and counts among its customers, OECD, the world economic
organization, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, an elite
French Political Science School, and Prisma Presse, one of the top
press group in France.

Existing Edge IT customers will keep receiving the same level of high
quality services from the company, now backed by a worldwide Linux editor.

François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandrakesoft declared: "I am delighted that
Edge-IT decided to join the Mandrakesoft family. They will bring to us
their extensive knowledge of the corporate market, their strong
expertise in delivering support and services and will be a great
complement to our service team".

"We are very happy to join Mandrakesoft, this will allow us to grow
more aggressively our corporate business and deliver better services
to our current customers" said Patrice Lallement, CEO of Edge IT.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings within a
semester. It is to be performed by an exchange of stock. Globally,
Edge IT shareholders will receive 70,000 Mandrakesoft shares, which
represents 1.47% of outstanding Mandrakesoft shares.

The deal, which still needs to be approved by the Extraordinary
General Meeting of Mandrakesoft shareholders, should close within a
few months.

Press contact:
Gaël Duval (press at mandrakesoft dot com)

About Mandrakesoft

Mandrakesoft is the publisher of the popular Mandrakelinux operating
system, one of the most full-featured and easy to use Linux systems
available. The company offers its enterprise, government and
educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and Open Source
software and related services. Mandrakesoft products are available in
more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and also from
Mandrakestore.com, the company's online store. Number 1 in several
countries, Mandrakesoft has won many awards for quality and technical
innovation. "Born on the Internet" in late 1998, Mandrakesoft has
offices in the United States and France.
Mandrakesoft is traded on Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code:
FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market
(stock symbol MDKFF).

http://www.mandrakesoft.com