Is Mandriva Finished This Time?

Public details are still a bit sketchy, but if the various forum posts are accurate, Mandriva will most likely shut their doors on January 16. Mandriva has had a long history of financial problems and this latest one could be the one to take Mandriva out. But then again, Mandriva always seems to pull one out of the hat at the last minute. After all, all they need is a whole lot of money.

On the Mandriva Forum, Raphaël Jadot, a long-time contributor, wrote, "everything was fine, but there is a big problem: a minor shareholder (Linlux) refuses the capital injection required for Mandriva to continue, even though the Russian investor had offered to bear it alone. Except turnaround Mandriva should cease activity Jan. 16." No further details were made available there. But as news crept around the various forums more did emerge.

Today, Wolfgang Bornath posted the text from a letter shareholders received from M. Dominique Loucougain, president of the executive board of Mandriva SA dated December 23, 2011. It provided proof to him that the news was true. He wrote on the Mageia Forums, "In late December the CEO sent a notice to all share holders. Mandriva needs a raise in capital, otherwise it will have to cease operations on Januar 16th. The main investor (russians) is ok with the raise and declared that they would give the money all by themselves if necessary. But the former main investor Occam (who now is Linlux) does not agree to the raise." The letter Wobo referred to said, "Mandriva sent a letter to the relevant judge, describing the situation that LinPlus for no reason is blocking a procedure which will decide on the continuity of the company or its bankruptcy. Plans to sue LinPlus are still open." Then he added we should know Mandriva's fate within a couple of weeks.

This scenaro is the very reason Magiea was born. It might be ironic that this news was tacked on a conversation about the advancing position of Mageia in Distrowatch.com Page Hit Rankings. It has been in the top 10 for at least the data spanning the last six months. It currently sits at number 8 for data spanning the last 30 days. While the news about Mandriva is sad, it's always sad when they are teetering on the edge of oblivion, but if the worst should happen, Magiea is there.