According to people familiar with International Business Machines Corp, they are investigating a possible sale of its IBM Watson Health business as the new CEO of the technology giant streamlines the company and becomes more competitive in cloud computing.
IBM is exploring 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. The people, who use artificial intelligence to help hospitals, insurers and drugmakers manage their data, have an annual revenue of $ 1 billion and are currently unprofitable.
Its brands include Merge Healthcare, which analyzes mammograms and MRIs; Phytel, who helps with patient communication; and Truven Health Analytics, which analyzes complex healthcare data.
It’s not clear how much the business can fetch in a sale, and there may not be one.
IBM, with a market value of $ 108 billion, was left behind while competitors of cloud computing Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. more than ten times higher for valuations. The company Armonk, NY, said it is focused on promoting its hybrid cloud operations while leaving the business unrelated businesses.