Novell announced yesterday that they purchased German Linux distribituors SUSE
Press Release here
Novell today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire SUSE LINUX, one of the world�s leading enterprise Linux companies, expanding Novell�s ability to provide enterprise-class services and support on the Linux platform. With the open source expertise of SUSE LINUX and Novell�s world-class networking and identity solutions and support, training and consulting services, Novell will be able to deliver Linux and all its components � from the server to the desktop � and give organizations a secure, reliable and mature Linux foundation. Novell will pay $210 million in cash to complete the acquisition. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and the winding up of shareholder agreements. Novell expects the transaction to close by the end of its first fiscal quarter (January 2004).
SUSE was one of the top three Linux companies.
RedHat announced yesterday that it was dropping its support for the free versions.
The remaining one is Mandrake Linux.