IBM Splurges US$5B on Cognos
IBM Splurges US$5B on Cognos
November 13, 2007: In a significant boost to its Information on Demand play and the latest in a string of acquisitions this year, IBM has picked up Business Intelligence specialist Cognos for a hefty US$5 billion.
The Cognos Group will be IBM’s 23rd acquisition made in support of its Information on Demand strategy, and will, according to the firm, enable new business insights to be delivered to a broader set of people across an organisation once Cognos’ technology is integrated into its platform.
IBM claims that once completed, the deal will make it the leading provider of technology and services for Business Intelligence and Performance Management. With Cognos’ solutions it will be able to deliver the industry’s “most complete, open standards-based platform with the broadest range of expertise to help companies expand the value of their information, optimise their business processes and maximise performance.”
There has been a lot of moving and shaking in the Business Intelligence market of late, with SAP recently announcing plans to pick up Cognos rival Business Objects SA, Oracle's acquisition of Hyperion closing in April, and the market generally growing by a solid 12 percent a year according to the analysts at IDC.
Cognos’ acquisition has been seen as more or less inevitable under these conditions, however, IBM claims that it is not buying a plug-in solution but rather a substantial complimentary upgrade to its BI services.
“Customers are demanding complete solutions, not piece parts, to enable real-time decision making,” said Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive for IBM’s Software Group. “We chose Cognos because of its industry-leading technology that is based on open standards, which complements IBM's Service Oriented Architecture strategy.”
The all cash deal will see IBM buy up Cognos shares for US$58 a piece, representing a US$6 premium above the firm’s current US$52 share price. The deal is expected to be closed in early 2008 and Cognos integrated into IBM’s information Management Software divisions afterwards.
Comment on this story