List of mergers and acquisitions by IBM

IBM

Company type	Public
Industry	Information technology
Predecessor	The Tabulating Machine Company, International Time Recording Company, Computing Scale Company of America, Bundy Manufacturing Company
Founded	1911
Headquarters	Armonk , United States
Products	Computer hardware, software, IT consulting services

IBM has a long history spanning over a century, marked by numerous mergers and acquisitions as well as several divestitures.

The dates of acquisitions correspond to the formal agreements made between IBM and the acquired organizations. Since IBM is headquartered in the United States, all financial figures are presented in USD, with undisclosed values indicated where relevant.

Precursors 1889–1910

Herman Hollerith originally operated under the name The Hollerith Electric Tabulating System, specializing in punched card data processing machinery. In 1896, he officially established the Tabulating Machine Company.

• 1889: Incorporation of Bundy Manufacturing Company.
• 1891: Formation of Computing Scale Company.
• 1893: Establishment of Dey Patents Company, shortly thereafter renamed Dey Time Register Company.
• 1894: Willard & Frick Manufacturing Company founded in Rochester, New York.
• 1896: Detroit Automatic Scale Company incorporated; simultaneously, Hollerith founds the Tabulating Machine Company, which was later reestablished in 1905.
• 1899: Bundy Manufacturing Company acquires Standard Time Stamp Company.
• 1900: Incorporation of International Time Recording Company, which absorbs time-recording operations from Bundy and Willard & Frick; Chicago Time-Register Company is acquired by International Time Recording; Dayton Moneyweight Scale and Detroit Automatic Scale companies are purchased by Computing Scale Company.
• 1905: Hollerith reincorporates as The Tabulating Machine Company.
• 1907: International Time Recording acquires Dey Time Register Company.
• 1908: Syracuse Time Recorder Company is absorbed by International Time Recording.

Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, 1911

Since at least the 1960s, IBM has traced its roots to a merger involving three firms: The Tabulating Machine Company (originating in the 1880s), International Time Recording Company (1900), and Computing Scale Company of America (1901). In reality, this consolidation included four companies—the fourth being Bundy Manufacturing Company.

The 1911 CTR stock prospectus confirms the inclusion of:

• The Tabulating Machine Company
• Computing Scale Corporation
• International Time Recording Company
• Bundy Manufacturing Company

CTR held ownership of these four companies’ stock but did not manufacture or market products itself; each entity continued operations under its original name.

1912–1929

• 1917
  • International Scale Company formed through acquisition of American Automatic Scale Company.
  • CTR merges three Canadian subsidiaries—The Canadian Tabulating Machine Co., Ltd; International Time Recording Co. of Canada, Ltd.; and Computing Scale Co. of Canada, Ltd.—into International Business Machines Co., Ltd.
• 1921
  • Purchase of assets from Pierce Accounting Machine Company.
  • Acquisition of Ticketograph Company based in Chicago.
• 1923
  • Dehomag acquired.
• 1924
  • CTR officially renamed "IBM".

1930–1949

• 1930 Acquisition of Automatic Accounting Scale Company.
• 1932 Purchase of National Counting Scale Company.
• 1933 Integration of separate subsidiaries into IBM proper; dissolution of holding company structure.
• 1933 Acquisition of Electromatic Typewriters Inc., maker of IBM Electromatic typewriter.
• 1941 Acquisition of Munitions Manufacturing Corporation.

1950–1969

• 1959 Pierce Wire Recorder Corporation.
• 1964 Science Research Associates.

1970–1989

• 1974 CML Satellite Corporation, later renamed Satellite Business Systems (SBS).
• 1984 ROLM.
• 1986 RealCom Communications Corporation.

1990–1999

• 1993
  • CGI Informatique (France) was acquired in 1993 and fully integrated into IBM by 1999.
• 1994
  • Transarc was purchased and merged into IBM by 1999, becoming the IBM Pittsburgh Lab.
• 1995
  • Lotus Development Corporation acquired for $3.5 billion.
  • Information Systems Management Canada (ISM Canada).
  • K3 Group Ltd.
  • Chrysler Systems Leasing (February 1995).
• 1996
  • Wilkerson Group.
  • Tivoli Systems, Inc. acquired for $743 million.
  • Data Sciences Ltd (including Thorn EMI Software, Datasolve, Corporate Management Services) purchased for £95 million.
  • Object Technology International (OTI).
  • Cyclade Consultants (Netherlands).
  • Fairway Technologies.
  • Professional Data Management, Inc. / LifePRO.
• 1997
  • Software Artistry acquired for $200 million.
  • Unison Software.
  • Dominion Semiconductor established as a 50/50 joint venture with Toshiba to manufacture DRAM chips; administrative offices located at the former IBM Federal Systems campus with a new fabrication plant constructed nearby.
• 1998
  • CommQuest Technologies.
  • DataBeam Corporation, Lexington, KY.
  • Ubique Ltd., Israel.
• 1999
  • Dascom Technologies (USA), a subsidiary of Dascom Holdings.
  • Mylex Corporation.
  • Sequent Computer Systems acquired for $810 million.

Acquisitions from 2000 - 2019

Annual acquisition counts:

• 2019: 1 company
• 2018: 3 companies
• 2017: 3 companies
• 2016: 12 companies
• 2015: 13 companies
• 2014: 4 companies
• 2013: 9 companies
• 2012: 9 companies
• 2011: 8 companies

... [Entries omitted for brevity] ...

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Acquisition Date	Company Name	Sector	Location	Purchase Price (USD)
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Mainspring	Business strategy consulting	USA	$80,000,000
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Informix Corporation	Database software solutions	USA	$1,000,000,000
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	CrossWorlds Software, Inc.	Software development	USA	$129,000,000
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Metamerge	Identity management services	Template:Country data NOR
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Trellisoft, Inc.	Enterprise storage technology	USA
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Holosofx, Inc.	Business Process Management solutions	USA, Template:Country data EGY
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	PWC Consulting (from PricewaterhouseCoopers)	Business and technology consulting services	USA	$3,500,000,000
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Access360	Software products	USA

| SoftLayer Technologies | Cloud infrastructure services | USA | style="text-align:right;" | $2,000,000,000 |

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| Trusteer | Cybersecurity solutions | Template:Country data ISR | style="text-align:right;" | $1,000,000,000 |

1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting

| Cognea | Cognitive computing platform (conversational AI) | USA |

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| AlchemyAPI | Natural language processing and big data analytics | USA |

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| Explorys | Healthcare analytics software solutions provider | USA |

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| Merge Healthcare Inc. | Healthcare imaging software; acquisition valued above $1 billion | USA |

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| The Weather Company digital assets acquisition | Weather data analytics and online/mobile product portfolio to enhance IBM’s data services capabilities. | USA |

1. REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting

|| Cleversafe || Object-based storage software || Template:Flag USA || style="text-align:right;"||$1.309 billion |

Acquisitions since 2020

Yearly acquisition count:

• 2020: 6 firms
• 2021: 7 firms
• 2022: 3 firms
• 2023: 3 firms
• 2024: 2 firms
• 2025: 2 firms

REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Spanugo	US-based provider specializing in cloud cybersecurity posture management	USA	Terms not disclosed
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	WDG	Enterprise automation enhanced by artificial intelligence	Template:Country data BRA	Terms not disclosed
November 16, 2020	TruQua Enterprises	Bolsters IBM’s SAP financial platform migration capabilities	USA	Terms not disclosed
November 18, 2020	Instana	Enhances Hybrid Cloud and AIOps with application performance monitoring and observability tools	USA	Terms not disclosed
December 15, 2020	Expertus Technologies Inc.	Provider of digital payment solutions extending hybrid cloud payment services	CAN	Terms not disclosed
December 21, 2020	Nordcloud	Reinforces Hybrid Cloud consulting expertise	Template:Country data FIN	Terms not disclosed
January 11, 2021	7Summits	Facilitates digital transformation initiatives for Salesforce clients	USA	Terms not disclosed
Jan 14, 2021	Taos	Broadens hybrid cloud advisory services	USA	Terms not disclosed
April 15, 2021	myInvenio	AI-driven automation platform optimizing business workflows	Template:Country data ITA	Terms not disclosed
May 18, 2021	Waeg	Expands Salesforce consulting presence across Europe	Belgium	Terms not disclosed
June 17, 2021	Turbonomic	Strengthens AIOps and network performance management offerings; includes SevOne solution	USA	Estimated $1.5–2 billion
July 8, 2021	BoxBoat Technologies	DevOps consultancy and Kubernetes-certified service provider	USA	Terms not disclosed
July 15, 2021	Bluetab Solutions Group, S.L.	Consulting services for hybrid cloud data and analytics across Europe and Latin America	Template:Country data SPA	Terms not disclosed
January 11, 2022	Envizi	Platform for sustainability data management and reporting	Australia	Terms not disclosed
Feb 15, 2022	Neudesic	Cloud consultancy focused on Microsoft Azure with multicloud expertise	USA	Terms not disclosed
September 22, 2022	Dialexa	Digital product engineering service provider	USA	Terms not disclosed
December 2022	Octo	IT consulting firm (specifics undisclosed)	USA	Terms not disclosed
February 8, 2023	StepZen	GraphQL-as-a-Service platform enhancing API and data utilization	USA	Terms not disclosed
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Polar Security	Cybersecurity firm specializing in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)	Template:Country data ISR	$60 million
REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting	Apptio	SaaS provider strengthening cloud service portfolio	USA	$4.6 billion
December 18, 2023	Streamsets	Solutions for data integration	GER	Terms not disclosed
March 20, 2024	Pliant	Automation of network and IT infrastructure	USA	Terms not disclosed
April 24, 2024	HashiCorp	Automation platform for infrastructure and security; supports comprehensive hybrid cloud environments	USA	$7.7 billion
February 25, 2025	DataStax	AI-driven applications utilizing unstructured data for enterprise use	USA	Terms not disclosed
June 2, 2025	SeekAI	Accelerator for AI applications targeting enterprises and startups	USA	Terms not disclosed

Spin-offs

• In 1934, the Dayton Scale Division was divested to Hobart Manufacturing Company.
• The Ticketograph Division was transferred to National Postal Meter Company in 1942.
• In 1958, the Time Equipment Division was sold to the Simplex Time Recorder Company.
• The Service Bureau Corporation was acquired by Control Data Corporation in 1974.
• Formerly a joint enterprise with Sears, Roebuck and Company, Prodigy became a separate entity in 1984.
• Satellite Business Systems was sold to MCI Communications in 1985.
• In 1988, the Copier/Duplicator segment, along with its service agreements, was sold to Eastman Kodak.
• The ARDIS mobile packet network, a joint venture with Motorola launched in 1990, saw Motorola purchase IBM’s 50% share in 1994.
• Lexmark, encompassing keyboards, typewriters, and printers, was established in 1991 with IBM retaining a 10% stake; subsequently, Lexmark divested its keyboard and typewriter operations.
• Kaleida Labs, a multimedia software collaboration with Apple Computer, was initiated in 1991.
• Taligent, another software partnership with Apple Computer, was formed in 1992.
• IBM’s PC manufacturing units were consolidated into the autonomous subsidiary IBM Personal Computer Company (later known as IBM Personal Systems Group) in 1992.
• The Commercial Multimedia Technologies Group was spun off as Fairway Technologies during the same year.
• IBM sold its remaining half-interest in Rolm Company to Siemens A.G. in 1992.
• Xyratex emerged in 1994 through a management buyout focusing on enterprise data storage and network technologies.
• Advantis, a voice and data networking venture with IBM holding 70% and Sears owning 30%, was formed in 1995; IBM purchased Sears’ shares by 1997. AT&T acquired the infrastructure segment in 1999 while IBM maintained the business and outsourcing components.
• The Federal Systems Division was sold to Loral Space & Communications in 1994 and later became part of Lockheed Martin.
• Celestica, specializing in Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS), was established as a spin-off in 1996.
• IBM Global Network was sold to AT&T in 1998, leading to the creation of AT&T Business Internet.
• In 1999, IBM divested its 50% interest in Dominion Semiconductor (DSC) to joint venture partner Toshiba; DSC then became a Toshiba subsidiary.
• Information Services Extended separated as ISx, Inc in 2001 and was later sold to Local Matters.
• On December 31, 2002, IBM’s hard disk drive business was sold to Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for approximately $2 billion; however, IBM continued developing storage systems including tape backup solutions and related software.
• Lenovo acquired a 90% stake in IBM Personal Systems Group in December 2004, taking over around 10,000 employees and $9 billion in revenue.
• Coremetrics purchased SurfAid Analytics from IBM Global Services on April 3, 2006 for at least $10 million; Coremetrics was subsequently reacquired by IBM.
• On January 25, 2007, InfoPrint Solutions Company was formed through a $725 million joint venture between IBM and Ricoh.
• September 2009 marked the launch of GuruOnline by IBM—a digital platform offering IT business video guidance.
• Also in September 2009, IBM sold its U2 multivalue database and associated products to Rocket Software.
• The Retail Store Solutions division focused on Point-of-Sales systems was sold to Toshiba TEC in April 2012.
• Lenovo expanded its portfolio by acquiring the IBM System x business for $2.3 billion in January 2014.
• In October 2014, IBM divested its Microelectronics division to GlobalFoundries while agreeing to pay $1.5 billion over three years for transition services.
• UNICOM Global acquired IBM Rational Focal Point and Rational Purify Plus solutions at the end of 2014.
• Algorithmics Collateral was sold to SmartStream Technologies early in January 2015.
• Later that year, UNICOM Global also took ownership of IBM Rational System Architect solutions in December 2015.
• HCL Technologies purchased selected IBM software products for $1.8 billion in December 2018.
• After acquisition by Centerbridge Partners, IBM Watson Marketing became an independent company named Acoustic in July 2019.
• On October 8, 2020, IBM announced plans to spin off its Managed Infrastructure Services division from Global Technology Services into a publicly traded company by the end of 2021.
• Kyndryl shares were distributed to IBM shareholders on November 3, 2021, with an ownership stake of approximately 80.1%.
• Watson Health was sold to private equity firm Francisco Partners on January 21, 2022.
• On August 22, 2023, Francisco Partners declared acquisition of The Weather Company assets from IBM.

See also

• List of largest mergers and acquisitions
• Lists of corporate acquisitions and mergers

External links

• Selected acquisitions by IBM