IBM is close to a deal to acquire software company Apptio for about $5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would bring the technology giant greater automation capabilities. In 2019 it bought software provider Red Hat for about $35 billion, in its biggest acquisition ever, a deal aimed at boosting its cloud-computing business. When the company announced the deal, IBM said the divestiture was another step in its hybrid-cloud and artificial-intelligence strategy. Cvent, another Vista-backed software company, was sold earlier this month to private-equity giant Blackstone for $4.6 billion. Late last year, Vista exited its investment in Ping Identity through a $2.8 billion sale to fellow tech-focused private-equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 24, 2023 05:04 UTC