NEW YORK— IBM said Monday it has agreed to pay $1.7 billion for Netezza Corp., a company that helps businesses sort through data on corporate servers.
Netezza’s software and hardware systems are designed to help companies use data about their businesses to make strategic decisions.
The personnel department of a company, for instance, could use tools provided by Netezza to figure out how their employee salaries stack up against the industry average.
IBM Corp. said it is offering $27 for each Netezza share, a 10 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $24.60.
Netezza shares climbed above the offered price in morning trading, rising $3.08, or 12.5 percent, to $27.68 after hitting a 52-week high of $27.73 earlier in the session. IBM shares rose $1 to $131.19.
Netezza is based in Marlborough, Mass., with about 500 employees.
The technology Netezza provides is referred to as “analytics,” an area where IBM said it has made 23 acquisitions totaling $12 billion over the past four years.
IBM, which is based in Armonk, N.Y., predicts analytics will be one of its main sources of growth over the next few years, estimating the total annual market at roughly $100 billion in software, hardware and services revenue.
Big tech providers have been snapping up smaller companies as they compete with one another to broaden the types of products and services they offer corporate clients.
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