Technology giant International Business Machines Corp. has declared it will buy marketing software producer Unica Corp. for $ 480 million in an effort to provide customers effective tools to create more focused marketing strategies. IBM, which recently purchased Web analytics vendor Coremetrics, is offering Unica holders $ 21 a share. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s more than double Thursday’s closing value and the highest level the stock has ever seen.
IBM and Unica join forces
IBM’s goal is to help customers generate a “consistent and relevant cross-channel brand experience to promote consumer loyalty and satisfaction,” as outlined in a statement, says PC World. And maintaining profit growth by shifting to higher-margin software business seems to be the main strategic focus of the company. Currently you will find about 500 Unica employees, all of whom will be incorporated into IBM’s software division, where IBM believes Unica’s software for marketing organizations will offer an exceptional advantage to its business-analytics and consulting unit.
About Unica Corporation
Unica Corps. has been around for almost two decades and is a recognized leader in marketing software solutions. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Waltham, Mass., with other office locations in other parts of the nation and worldwide. It is one of England’s fastest growing technology companies. The company reported total revenue of $ 30.7 million for the 3rd quarter fiscal 2010, which ended June 30, 2010. Compared to the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2009, that’s a 14 percent increase.
Unica brings optimism to IBM
Unica Corporation has about 1,500 shoppers, which contains big names like Best Purchase, ING and eBay. Once the acquisition is finalized, however, they’ll all become IBM customers. Unica CEO Yuchun Lee said he believes the new movement will help IBM improve all types of businesses, large and small. IBM officials are planning to discuss the Unica acquisition in further detail during a conference call Friday. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
More info at this site
The Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960004575427171092347124.html
PC World
pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/203224/ibm_buying_unica_for_480_million.html
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