The transaction, which has already cleared the customary waiting period required by US antitrust laws, is expected to close later this month.
But the deal still remains subject to foreign antitrust clearance.
IBM announced its intent to acquire the enterprise content management software maker for approximately $1.6bn in cash – or around $35 per share.
IBM said FileNet’s technology will shore up its Information on Demand strategy.
Recent acquisitions in the ECM sector have prompted debate as to whether the sector is growing or consolidating around a handful of larger enterprise software vendors.
Canadian rival Open Text Corp is currently buying Hummingbird Ltd. And storage giant EMC swooped for Documentum Inc in 2003.
If anything IBM’s move validates the market. But IBM’s has its work cut out picking through the overlaps between its own and FileNet’s content management products.
IBM also faces the other typical problems that a large acquisitions brings; coordination of geographically dispersed teams, reconciling competitive development teams, integration of sales forces, and avoiding channel conflict.
Retaining customers through any product transition will also be a challenge.
