Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 16:00:36 -0200
From: Sergio Bruder <bruder@conectiva.com.br>
To: lwn@lwn.net
Subject: [PR] CONECTIVA RECEIVES INVESTMENTS FROM ABN AMRO BANK

CONECTIVA RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM ABN AMRO BANK

São Paulo, Brazil, January, 2001 - Conectiva announced today
that it received a new equity investment from ABN AMRO
Bank.  
Conectiva's existing investors, Intel Capital and LatinTech
Capital, also invested in this round of financing. Financial
details were not disclosed.

Conectiva offers a Latin American version of Linux, as well
as other additional products aimed at stimulating Open
Source software adoption within the region. Conectiva will
use the investments to help expand its service network to
other Latin American locations; stimulate Open Source
application software projects in vertical markets such as
education, SOHO and public administration, among others; and
consolidate its service provider partnership network in the
supporting, consulting and training areas throughout Latin
America.

About ABN AMRO 
Bank Present in more than 70 countries with nearly 3,500
offices around the world, ABN AMRO Bank has a total assets
of EUR 533,3 billion and is ranked as Europe's fifth largest
bank.

In Brazil since 1917, ABN AMRO Bank acquired the Banco Real
Bank and BANDEPE Bank in 1998, becoming the fifth largest
private bank in the country.  The merged operations of ABN
AMRO Brazil has R$ 31.2 billions in assets and R$ 4.6
billions in equity.

About Intel Capital 
Intel Capital, Intel's strategic investment program, focuses
on making equity investments and acquisitions to grow the
Internet economy, including Internet infrastructure, content
and services in support of Intel's strategic interests. In
Latin America, Intel Capital invests through Intel Atlantic,
Inc., a subsidiary of Intel Corporation.

About LatinTech Capital 
LatinTech Capital is a venture capital holding company with
a major focus on Latin American technology companies.
LatinTech acts as an active investor, assisting its
portfolio companies with strategic planning, business
development, partnership agreements, financial guidance, and
management recruiting.

In addition to Conectiva Inc., LatinTech Capital?s portfolio
currently includes other leading Latin technology companies,
such as Modulo, Neoris, Vesta Technologies, and Solvo.

About Conectiva Inc.  
Founded in 1995, Conectiva is a Linux and Open Source
pioneer in Latin America with Portuguese, Spanish and
English versions.  In addition to deploying customized Linux
versions throughout the Latin American market, Conectiva
also develops additional products and services related to
Open Source software, such as books, manuals, software,
embedded systems, OEM programs, application porting
initiatives, training kits and the Linux Magazine. The
company also provides the Latin American market with
consulting and training services, and technical support
through its own service centers and certified affiliates.

The private company is headquartered in Curitiba, Paraná,
Brazil. Conectiva's Service Centers are located in São
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Brasília, and also
Buenos Aires - Argentina, Bogota - Colombia, and Mexico City
- Mexico. For additional information on Conectiva's products
and services, please visit http://www.conectiva.com or
contact the company at 55-41-360-2600.