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 almost a third of their value in the last five years, while Red Hat shares are up 170 percent over the same period.
The Big Blue:
Founded in 1911 and is known in the technology industry as Big Blue, a reference to its once ubiquitous blue computers. It has faced years of revenue declines, as it transitions its legacy computer maker business into new technology products and services. Its recent initiatives have included artificial intelligence and business lines around Watson, named after the supercomputer it developed.
To be sure, IBM is no stranger to acquisitions. It acquired cloud infrastructure provider Softlayer in 2013 for $US2 billion, and the Weather Channel's data assets for more than $US2 billion in 2015. It also acquired Canadian business software maker Congo’s in 2008 for $US5 billion.
Other big technology companies have also recently sought to reinvent themselves through acquisitions. Microsoft Corp this year acquired open source software platform Github for $US7.5 billion; chip maker Broadcom Inc agreed to acquire software maker CA Inc for nearly $US19 billion, and Adobe Inc agreed to acquire marketing software maker Market for $US5 billion.
One of IBM's main competitors, Dell Technologies Inc, made a big bet on software and cloud computing two years ago when it acquired data storage company EMC for $US67 billion. As part of that deal, Dell inherited an 82 percent stake in virtualization software company VMware
The deal between IBM and Red Hat is expected to close in the second half of 2019. IBM said it planned to suspend its share repurchase program in 2020 and 2021 to help pay for the deal.
IBM said Red Hat will continue to be led by Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst and Red Hat's current management team. It intends to maintain Red Hat's headquarters, facilities, brands, and practices.
Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase advised IBM and provided financing for the deal. Guggenheim Partners LLC advised Red Hat.
"Knowing first-hand how important open, hybrid cloud technologies are to helping businesses unlock value, we see the power of bringing these two companies together, and are honored to advise IBM and commit financing for this transaction," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
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 almost a third of their value in the last five years, while Red Hat shares are up 170 percent over the same period.
The Big Blue:
Founded in 1911 and is known in the technology industry as Big Blue, a reference to its once ubiquitous blue computers. It has faced years of revenue declines, as it transitions its legacy computer maker business into new technology products and services. Its recent initiatives have included artificial intelligence and business lines around Watson, named after the supercomputer it developed.
To be sure, IBM is no stranger to acquisitions. It acquired cloud infrastructure provider Softlayer in 2013 for $US2 billion, and the Weather Channel's data assets for more than $US2 billion in 2015. It also acquired Canadian business software maker Congo’s in 2008 for $US5 billion.
Other big technology companies have also recently sought to reinvent themselves through acquisitions. Microsoft Corp this year acquired open source software platform Github for $US7.5 billion; chip maker Broadcom Inc agreed to acquire software maker CA Inc for nearly $US19 billion, and Adobe Inc agreed to acquire marketing software maker Market for $US5 billion.
One of IBM's main competitors, Dell Technologies Inc, made a big bet on software and cloud computing two years ago when it acquired data storage company EMC for $US67 billion. As part of that deal, Dell inherited an 82 percent stake in virtualization software company VMware
The deal between IBM and Red Hat is expected to close in the second half of 2019. IBM said it planned to suspend its share repurchase program in 2020 and 2021 to help pay for the deal.
IBM said Red Hat will continue to be led by Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst and Red Hat's current management team. It intends to maintain Red Hat's headquarters, facilities, brands, and practices.
Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase advised IBM and provided financing for the deal. Guggenheim Partners LLC advised Red Hat.
"Knowing first-hand how important open, hybrid cloud technologies are to helping businesses unlock value, we see the power of bringing these two companies together, and are honored to advise IBM and commit financing for this transaction," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
Comments
Post a Comment