IBM to acquire SPSS

Many news outlets are reporting today that IBM has announced that it will acquire SPSS for 1.2 billion dollars in cash. That’s $50 a share, a significant premium on the recent trading range of $30-$35. IBM clearly sees value in predictive analysis.

IBM has a strong history in supporting open-source projects: they are a significant contributor to Linux, for example. Given this, and SPSS’s recent flirtations with R, I wonder if IBM — or maybe a rival — will take an interest in R, too.

The Register: Big Blue blows a billion on predictive software seller

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Many news outlets are reporting today that IBM has announced that it will acquire SPSS for 1.2 billion dollars in cash. That’s $50 a share, a significant premium on the recent trading range of $30-$35. IBM clearly sees value in predictive analysis.

IBM has a strong history in supporting open-source projects: they are a significant contributor to Linux, for example. Given this, and SPSS’s recent flirtations with R, I wonder if IBM — or maybe a rival — will take an interest in R, too.

The Register: Big Blue blows a billion on predictive software seller

Link to original post