IBM to buy Mountain View-base Confluent for $9.3 billion to expand AI services

By Liana Baker, Bloomberg

International Business Machines Corp. is buying the data-streaming platform Confluent Inc. for about $9.3 billion, marking one of its largest takeovers yet and a major bet on the kind of enterprise software that artificial intelligence tools need to perform tasks in real time.

IBM will pay $31 a share, according to a statement issued Monday. The enterprise value, which includes debt, is $11 billion, it said. The companies expect the deal to close by the middle of 2026.

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If the transaction fails or is terminated, IBM will pay Confluent a breakup fee of $453.6 million, according to an accompanying regulatory filing.

The acquisition “could significantly improve IBM’s AI portfolio, and subsequently its software unit’s sales growth,” Bloomberg Inte