IBM to buy ANSR?
forbes.com
Markets
Rumor Of The Day: IBM Aims To Buy Answerthink
Lisa DiCarlo, Forbes.com, 10.23.00, 2:00 PM ET
NEW YORK - Market speculation has been gently swirling around
Answerthink, a Miami e-business consultancy that has been widely seen
as a takeover target. Now it appears that IBM may strike a deal to buy the
company, perhaps as soon as next week.
A source close to the situation says some Answerthink (nasdaq: ANSR)
higher-ups are dropping hints to underlings that IBM (nyse: IBM) will be
the buyer, even going so far as to whisper Big Blue by name when the
subject of an acquisition comes up.
Why? Answerthink could help fill some gaps in IBM's services and
consulting strategy. Answerthink has expertise in supply chain
management, logistics and Web-based ordering. It already has a
partnership with IBM to, among other things, "identify best practices in
e-retail," according to Answerthink's Web site. And some of IBM's
e-marketplace partners, like i2 Technologies (nasdaq: ITWO), are also
Answerthink partners.
It is not known what kind of premium Answerthink, with a market cap of
$801 million, could extract from IBM. But the company seems to be faring
a little better than some other net consultants like Razorfish (nasdaq:
RAZF), US Interactive (nasdaq: USIT) and iXL Enterprises (nasdaq: IIXL),
which have all recently failed to meet expectations.
Answerthink should surpass $300 million in sales this year, and it has
recorded profits of $18.9 million in the first nine months. Still, the 1,700-
person company would be a tiny speck within IBM's sprawling Global
Services Division, which accounts for about a third of the company's $87
billion in 1999 revenue.
Company representatives were not available to comment at press time.
Answerthink's shares were down nearly 14% in early afternoon trading
today, to $15. IBM shares were down almost 2% to $93. |
