IBM To Acquire Unica

IBM IBM today has decided to buy Unica in an all-cash $480 million to expand its global portfolio of software and technology services. It would pay around $21 per Unica share, a premium of around 120 percent from Thursday's close of $9.55. As a result, Unica UNCA jumped to $20.81 in today’s pre-market.IBM has recently released a statement saying that it will acquire more companies in the software and services space. IBM plans to spend close to $20 billion in acquisitions over the next five years in an attempt to gradually shift from “commoditized” hardware sales. IBM had decided to buy Sterling Commerce in late May signaling their intent to shift its focus to software services industry. HP HPQ, Oracle ORCL, and Dell DELL has also been sourcing for new deals to expand their software services portfolio. IBM is currently trading at $128.06, down .19%. Unica is currently trading at $20.75, up 117.28%. Oracle is currently trading at $22.68, down 1.13%. HP is currently trading at $40.75, up 1.52%. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.