Red Hat, a leading developer of open source software and services based on the Linux operating system, announced on Friday it had taken steps towards an initial public offering of all of its stock.
The company said it has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the IPO.
Goldman, Sachs will act as the lead underwriter of the offering. Other underwriters will include Thomas Weisel Partners and E*Trade Securities.
Red Hat has emerged as a leading vendor of the increasingly popular Linux open source operating system. Other companies include Pacific HiTech, which has said it is changing its name to TurboLinux, SuSe Holding and Caldera Systems.
No date for the sale has been established, the company said.