IBM Buys DemandTec for Its Cloud-ified Analytics
December 8, 2011
IBM said Thursday morning that it was buying DemandTec for $13.20 a share, close to 57% premium.
Big Blue will ante up roughly $440 million, net of DemandTec’s cash on hand, to take over the cloud-based ISV for its 10-month-old Smarter Commerce initiative. IBM estimates the market opportunity for Smarter Commerce at $20 billion in software alone.
By running different customer buying scenarios, DemandTec’s subscription-based price, promotion, merchandising and marketing analytics are supposed to help users define their best price points and product mix based on customer buying trends both online and in stores…
DemandTec has approximately 450 customers worldwide mostly in retail and consumer products like groceries, drug stores, convenience shops, consumer electronics, office supplies, apparel, department stores and fast food. IBM said it also has 31 patents in the areas of pricing, response analysis and promotion analysis.
DemandTec has 350 people and offices in San Mateo, where it is headquartered, Minneapolis, London, Paris and Bangalore.
The deal is expected to close in Q1.