Corel Corp. said today it plans to acquire Inprise Corp. in a $2.44 billion stock swap intended to bolster the Canadian software developer's Linux presence.

Corel, the maker of WordPerfect and a Linux desktop operating system distributor, plans to exchange 0.747 of its common shares for each outstanding common share of Inprise, a supplier of application development tools. Inprise, formerly known as Borland International, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Corel. The value of the deal is based on Corel's Friday closing stock price of $20.

"With Inprise/Borland's leadership in the software-development community, and Corel's Linux desktop operating system and productivity applications, we have an extraordinary opportunity to reach all facets of the exploding Linux market," said Corel president Michael Cowpland in a statement. "This merger enables us to offer end-to-end product solutions and global support to all of our shared customers."

Corel, concentrating its efforts in the Linux market on desktop PCs and mobile computers, last year released Corel Linux, a packaged version of the open-source operating system, and the WordPerfect 8 suite for Linux. Inprise, which markets products including the JBuilder Java development environment, supports platforms including Windows, Solaris, and Linux. The companies say the acquisition will let Corel and Inprise offer customers a range of productivity applications, developer tools, and professional services for Linux.