Posted Date: 12/8/2011
IBM Acquires DemandTec for $440M
IBM and
DemandTec have entered into a definitive merger agreement for IBM to acquire DemandTec in an all-cash transaction of $440 million. The acquisition will extend IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based price, promotion and other merchandising and marketing analytics.
DemandTec has approximately 450 customers worldwide in retail including grocery, drug, convenience, consumer electronics, office supplies, apparel, department stores and quick-serve restaurants. Offering cloud-based analytics software, DemandTec will extend IBM's market opportunity for Smarter Commerce, which is already estimated at $20 billion in software alone.
"IBM Smarter Commerce is redefining how brands buy, market, sell and service their customers in ways that their customers wants," says Craig Hayman, general manager of industry solutions at IBM. "Bringing science to the art of pricing and promotion is a big part of this strategy, and the combination of DemandTec and IBM will help marketing and sales executives in retail and other industries drive more revenue and increase profitability."
"DemandTec has unprecedented capability to improve customers' price and promotion tactics on a stand-alone basis and connect retailers and manufacturers for collaborative planning through the cloud," says Dan Fishback, president and CEO of DemandTec. "IBM Smarter Commerce is the perfect fit for DemandTec. IBM is the only provider of price and promotion offerings within a rich solution set that supports companies' buy, market, sell and service processes."