IBM will acquire Confluent for 11 billion dollars, thus strengthening its cloud computing portfolio and responding to the demand for AI applications.

This decision comes in the context of increasing demand for cloud computing solutions and artificial intelligence applications. CEO Arvind Krishna emphasized that the acquisition will enable companies to implement generative and agentic Artificial Intelligence more efficiently. IBM's offer of $31 per share represents a premium of 34% over the previous price of Confluent shares, which rose by nearly 30% after the announcement. IBM will finance the acquisition from its own liquidity, and the transaction could positively contribute to the company's operational profit and cash flow in the coming years. This is part of a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at strengthening IBM's cloud and software divisions.