IBM buys Red Hat software company for $ 34 billion!
IBM, which has a market capitalization of $US114 billion ($160.7 billion), will pay $US190 per share in cash for Red Hat, a 62 percent premium to Friday's closing share price. Founded in 1993, Red Hat specializes in Linux operating systems, the most popular type of open-source software, which was developed as an alternative to proprietary software made by Microsoft Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Red Hat charges fees to its corporate customers for custom features, maintenance, and technical support, offering IBM a lucrative source of subscription revenue. The acquisition illustrates how older technology companies are turning to deal-making to gain scale and fend off competition, especially in cloud computing, where customers using enterprise software are seeking to save money by consolidating their vendor relationships. IBM is hoping the deal will help it catch up with Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft in the rapidly growing cloud business. IBM shares have lost