By silicon.com, 7 June 2004 15:50
NEWS 7/6/1999: Word gets out that Red Hat Software plans to go public, making it the first Linux vendor to go for an IPO.
In its initial filing, Red Hat, of which Intel owns 5 per cent, says the company plans a $96m flotation and has made its money by selling boxed software, not via services and support.
Given that Red Hat has already made a name for itself by partnering with big tech players such as Compaq, HP, IBM and SAP, the move is no surprise to industry vendors - but they do see it as a legitimisation of the Linux market.
7/6/2004: Red Hat's stock price has seen some ups and downs over the past five years. Shares started trading on the Nasdaq on 11 August, 1999, at $46, hit an intraday high of $56.75 and closed at 54.50 (or $27.25, when you account for a 2:1 split in early 2000).
The share price fell as low as $3 in the autumn of 2001 and is now trading in the high $20s.
As for Red Hat's reputation, it's still a market leader with a $5bn market cap and has continued to be chummy with the tech big boys. Having secured a good portion of the corporate server market, it's now hoping to find its way onto end user's work desktops as well.
The Linux market is as legitimate as can be, with Red Hat bringing in revenue of $126m for the most recent year and seeing an operating income of about $3m.
And all this from software that was originally given away for free.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below