IBM to buy Algorithmics from Fimalac for $387m

New York: International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has agreed to buy Algorithmics, a supplier of risk analytics software, for $387 million (Dh1.4 billion).

The purchase will add 900 employees to IBM's team of more than 8,000 consultants in the business analytics unit, Armonk, New York-based IBM said in a statement yesterday.

Algorithmics, based in Toronto, is a member of Fitch Group, which is majority owned by Paris-based holding company Fimalac.

IBM said its analytics offerings are backed by more than $14 billion spent on acquisitions in the past five years, including OpenPages Inc, a maker of compliance and risk management systems.

IBM has forecast its business analytics and optimisation activities will reach $16 billion in revenue by 2015 as companies sift their data for insights. CEO Sam Palmisano last year said he would spend $20 billion on acquisitions within five years.

"Combining Algorithmics' expertise with IBM's deep analytics portfolio will allow clients to take a more holistic approach to managing risk and responding to economic change across their enterprises," said Rob Ashe, IBM's general manager of business analytics.