attgig
05-11-2005, 11:32 AM
Billionaire chairman of No. 1 PC maker places big bet on Microsoft competitor.
May 10, 2005: 1:41 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Red Hat is getting a $99.5 million boost from Michael S. Dell, billionaire founder and chairman of Dell Inc., according a regulatory filing.
Through his private investment firm, MSD, Dell bought the largest share of $600 million in debentures offered by the software developer in January 2004, a Securities Exchange Commission filing showed.
Red Hat's main product, the Linux operating system for PCs, is a direct competitor to Microsoft's Windows. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company also provides support services for "open source" technology, which is software developed by communities of programmers for free use.
Dell (http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?shownav=true&symb=DELL) (Research (http://cnnfn.investor.reuters.com/Reports.aspx?ticker=DELL)) is the nation's largest PC maker.
Debentures are similar to bonds in that the issuer promises a fixed return for a stated period of time on the investment.
In the case of a public company, a debenture can also be converted into shares or equity. http://i.cnn.net/money/images/bug.gif (http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/10/technology/redhat/index.htm?cnn=yes#TOP)
May 10, 2005: 1:41 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Red Hat is getting a $99.5 million boost from Michael S. Dell, billionaire founder and chairman of Dell Inc., according a regulatory filing.
Through his private investment firm, MSD, Dell bought the largest share of $600 million in debentures offered by the software developer in January 2004, a Securities Exchange Commission filing showed.
Red Hat's main product, the Linux operating system for PCs, is a direct competitor to Microsoft's Windows. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company also provides support services for "open source" technology, which is software developed by communities of programmers for free use.
Dell (http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?shownav=true&symb=DELL) (Research (http://cnnfn.investor.reuters.com/Reports.aspx?ticker=DELL)) is the nation's largest PC maker.
Debentures are similar to bonds in that the issuer promises a fixed return for a stated period of time on the investment.
In the case of a public company, a debenture can also be converted into shares or equity. http://i.cnn.net/money/images/bug.gif (http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/10/technology/redhat/index.htm?cnn=yes#TOP)