IBM to buy MRO Software for $740 mln

 

BOSTON (Reuters) - IBM (NYSE:IBM - news), the world's biggest technology services company, said on Thursday it agreed to buy MRO Software Inc. (Nasdaq:MROI - news) for $740 million in cash as it expands its profitable software business.

 

International Business Machines Corp. said in a statement it would pay $25.80 per share for MRO, equivalent to a 19 percent premium on MRO's Wednesday closing price on Nasdaq.

 

Based in Bedford, Mass., MRO provides software and consulting to help companies buy, maintain and retire assets such as production equipment, facilities, transportation and information technology hardware and software.

 

IBM said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

 

IBM, of Armonk, New York, has made about 40 acquisitions in the past three years, including $2.02 billion of purchases last year. On Wednesday, IBM said it had bought privately held Webify Solutions, which helps insurers, health care companies and banks integrate corporate software systems. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

IBM has said it sees additional acquisitions in software, its most profitable business, and services. IBM's software group had a gross profit margin of 84 percent in the second quarter, compared with 26 percent in services and 34 percent in hardware, according to its financial statements.

 

IBM said MRO's asset management technology and consulting services will be combined with IBM Software and IBM Global Services offerings.

MRO Software's shares closed at $21.60 on Wednesday on the Nasdaq. IBM's shares closed at $76.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.  

 

-Karthikeyan