IBM steps back from costly acquisitions
Concentrates on companies that fit in with its portfolio
Despite the trend for big companies to make high profile acquisitions, IBM has decided to step back a notch.
Big Blue, which has recently been targeting software companies that fit businesses it already owns, including data analytics, security and e-commerce, has reportedly said it will from now on focus on acquisitions worth $200 million to $1.5 billion.
Speaking at the JP Morgan investment conference CFO Mark Loughridge said: “We are not looking at big acquisitions, nor do we want to communicate that we are looking at big acquisitions.” That’s as reported by the Times of India.
He added that the company would shell out around $20 billion on acquisitions between 2010 and 2015, which would help it fulfil its plans to reach at least $20 per share in adjusted earnings for 2015.
The claims by the CFO shows how much the company’s focus has changed. In 2009 it was bidding for large companies – most notably Sun Microsystems, which it was beaten to by Oracle.