IBM to acquire ILOG
ConvergenceAsia staff
30/07/2008

ILOG, a software and services provider has signed an agreement regarding a proposed acquisition by IBM of ILOG to be implemented by way of concurrent cash public tender offers in both France and the United States.

Through this proposed transaction, IBM will combine its business process management (BPM), business optimisation, and service oriented architecture (SOA) technologies with ILOG's Business Rules Management Systems software. This will enable IBM to help clients deliver critical business information in real-time, allowing them to make better business decisions faster.

ILOG's board of directors has approved the transaction between the two companies and, subject to the receipt of a satisfactory fairness opinion regarding the financial terms of the offer, is expected to give a final recommendation prior to September 15, following which the offer should be filed with the French stock exchange authority (AMF).

When completed, the acquisition of ILOG will strengthen IBM's BPM and SOA position by providing customers a full set of rule management tools for complete information and application lifecycle management across a comprehensive platform including IBM's WebSphere application development and management platform.

ILOG technology has the potential to add significant capability across IBM's entire software platform and bolster its existing rules management offerings. This includes improved rules and business optimisation capabilities for Information Management offerings, better visualisation for Lotus products, enhanced optimisation within Tivoli solutions, and efficient supply chain management assets for planning and scheduling.

"Companies across all industries are looking for technologies to help them manage their processes with more flexibility so they can keep up with changing business conditions," said Tom Rosamilia, general manager, IBM WebSphere. "ILOG's software allows businesses to more effectively manage and automate the decision making process, giving companies an opportunity to react with incredible speed and accuracy. IBM has partnered with ILOG for over a decade, and by adding ILOG's capabilities to IBM's software portfolio, this is a great combination to provide value to our clients."

Beyond end-user customers, ILOG has more than 500 original equipment manufacturer, solution integrator, and independent software vendor partners. IBM also has an extensive partner community which will benefit from access to the ILOG technologies and extend ILOG's reach.

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