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IBM
said Monday it's buying data streaming platform Confluent in a
deal worth $11 billion that will help bolster the technology
company's artificial intelligence strategy.
The two companies said they signed a “definitive agreement” for
IBM to acquire all of Confluent Inc.'s issued and outstanding
common stock for $31 per share in cash, which represents an
enterprise value of $11 billion.
Confluent, based in Mountain View, Calif., is an open source
data streaming platform that “connects, processes and governs"
data and events in real time, the companies said in a joint
statement. It specializes in preparing data for AI and keeping
it “clean and connected across systems and applications," they
said.
The deal means IBM's client companies can deploy artificial
intelligence services better and faster “by providing trusted
communication and data flow between environments, applications
and APIs,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in the statement. “Data
is spread across public and private clouds, data centers and
countless technology providers."
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026. It still needs
approval from Confluent shareholders as well as clearance from
regulators.
Confluent shares, which closed at $23.14 Friday, surged 29% in
premarket trading. Shares of IBM ticked down less than 1%.
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