The blueprint is laid-out, although I'm sure Ginni & the C-Suite have been aware of this plan for awhile. . .
https://investorplace.com/2017/12/what-it-would-take-to-sell-ibm/
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The best way to sell IBM, then, would be in pieces, through a private equity company. Maybe this sale could be spurred on by activists seeking a quick profit, possibly shepherded by a U.S. asset manager such as BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) or The Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG), where legendary former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner is still listed as a senior adviser.
The outsourcing group, where the layoffs are now happening, could be acquired by Accenture Plc (Germany) (NYSE:ACN), which has a market cap of $95 billion.
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As in past acquisitions by NationsBank (which became Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and SBC Communications (which became AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)), the name might be a big part of the value here.
Carving Up Big Blue
This would leave some tasty businesses, each with different business models, to be carved up by the acquirer.
The mainframe business, which remains alive and wildly profitable but continues to decline, could be sold to a Chinese company such as Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY), which could increase profits by moving the work there.
The cloud business, acquired as SoftLayer in 2012 for just $2 billion, might deliver fat dividends as a data-center REIT, like CoreSite Realty Corp (NYSE:COR) which is throwing off 90 cents per share in dividends each quarter thanks to its corporate structure. It also might make a good bolt-on for AT&T.
The remaining technologies, like the chip business, research, Watson and supercomputer systems, would, as standalone opportunities, be certain to find ready buyers in Silicon Valley, and that cash may make the whole exercise profitable.
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