In a surprise move it appears that Xandros has bought California-based Linux distributor, Linspire. Practical Technology was one of the first to report the move based on a blog posting by Kevin Carmony, former CEO of Linspire.

In an announcement apparently sent out yesterday, June 30, to Linspire shareholders, CEO Larry Kettler wrote that “without a meeting, by less than unanimous written consent of the Company’s stockholders on June 19, 2008: The stockholders voted to approve the sale by the company to Linspire Acquisition Corporation … a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xandros, Inc.”

The deal specifically includes Linspire, Freespire, and the company’s Click ‘N Run software installation tool.

Carmony writes on his blog: “In classic Michael Robertson [Linspire's founder and chief owner] form, he has once again completely disregarded the 100 some-odd shareholders of Linspire by pulling off this deal without a shareholder meeting. Most states require shareholder approval of any merger or reorganization of a corporation, or the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the corporation’s assets. Even if a company only has 1 minority shareholder, there should be a shareholder meeting and the acquisition explained to all shareholders. What do Linspire shareholders get in place of a shareholder meeting? This completely worthless notice in the mail.”