System integrator takes over Japan's VA Linux

Sumisho Computer Systems (SCS), a Japanese system integrator, has acquired Sumitomo's stake in VA Linux Systems Japan to become its largest shareholder, the companies said Thursday.

The price of the deal was not disclosed but a report in the Thursday morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper put it at between YEN 700 million and YEN 900 million (US$6.5 million and $8.4 million).

SCS is a subsidiary of Sumitomo and so, with this transaction, VA Linux remains within the Sumitomo Group. VA Linux said the switch should mean its open-source systems are more widely adopted within Sumitomo, which is one of Japan's largest general trading companies, and the wider group. It will also help SCS boost its open source business.

VA Linux was founded in September 2000 by Sumitomo and other companies. Sumitomo became a majority shareholder in the company in January 2002. Other shareholders include VA Software, NEC and two companies that are part of Japan's NTT telecommunications group: NTT Comware and NTT Data.