International Business Machines Corp. is exploring a potential sale of its IBM Watson Health business, according to people familiar with the matter, as the technology giant’s new CEO moves to streamline the company and become more competitive in cloud computing.
IBM is looking at alternatives to the unit that could include a sale to a private equity firm or an industry player or a merger with a blank check company, people said. The unit, which uses artificial intelligence to help hospitals, insurers and drug manufacturers manage their data, has annual revenues of about $ 1 billion and is currently unprofitable, people said.
Its brands include Merge Healthcare, which analyzes mammograms and MRIs; Phytel, which helps the patient communicate; and Truven Health Analytics, which analyzes complex healthcare data.
It is not clear how much the company could bring in a sale and there may not be one.
IBM, with a market value of $ 108 billion, lagged behind rivals Microsoft Cloud and Amazon.com Inc. rises to ratings more than 10 times higher. Armonk, NY, said it is focusing on growing its hybrid-cloud operations, while leaving some independent companies.