IBM Corp is making its largest acquisition ever, a deal announced on Monday to buy Cognos Inc for US$5 billion in cash in hopes of keeping up with rivals in "business intelligence" software.
The acquisition would follow similar moves in the same market this year. SAP AG recently linked up with Business Objects SA for US$7 billion and Oracle Corp grabbed Hyperion Solutions Corp for US$3.3 billion. Cognos shares had soared recently on expectations that it, too, would be acquired. They leaped another 8 percent on Monday's news.
Business intelligence software helps big organizations gather data in "dashboards" that can be used to model such things as the financial impact of staffing changes or marketing moves.
Because that capability meshes with other things business software does, big vendors like SAP, Oracle and IBM have moved to include business intelligence applications in their product packages.
But their challenge will be to technically integrate business intelligence offerings in a way that is easier and less expensive for customers. David O'Connell, a senior analyst with Nucleus Research, said he was skeptical that will happen with IBM and Cognos.
"I'm not sure it will become more than a bolt-on," he said.
Forrester Research's Paul Hamerman agreed that it could take time for IBM to produce compelling technological linkages, but he added: "I don't see any downside for customers."
IBM and Cognos already had a business partnership.
IBM has been on an acquisition tear in recent years to build out its software portfolio, because software generates much fatter profit margins than IBM's sprawling technology-services business. IBM had been primarily a provider of "middleware," which connects various kinds of software applications, but its recent push has led the company to expand more into the business of selling applications as well.
Steve Mills, the head of IBM's software group, said acquiring Cognos was not prompted by rival deals.
"We never do acquisitions on defensive moves or based on what others are doing," Mills said in an interview.
IBM is offering US$58 per share for Ottawa-based Cognos, a 9 percent premium over the company's US$52.98 closing price on Friday.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS