linspire

Michael Robertson's latest deal nowhere to be found on his who's-rich cheatsheet

Owen Thomas · 07/02/08 05:20PM

When last we heard from Michael Robertson, the slick-tongued domain-name speculator who likes to pose as a businessman, he was starting Dealipedia, a website where people are meant to disclose who made how much off mergers, acquisitions, and other business exits. Nowhere to be found: How much money Robertson made from a recent asset sale of Linspire, his failing Linux startup, to Xandros, another Linux concern. Because it was an asset sale, not an outright acquisition, Linspire still exists on paper, holding whatever proceeds it made from the sale. Kevin Carmony, Linspire's former CEO and a current shareholder, is loudly agitating to have Robertson disclose how much money Robertson made from the deal. Sorry, Kevin, I'm pretty sure the answer is "none." Because if Robertson had made anything, he'd be talking it up to anyone who'll listen. (Photo by Digital Tipping Point)