If past form is any indication, the rumor that IBM Corp is preparing to stage a buy-out of online analytical processing company, Arbor Software Corp (CI No 3,183), is premature, say analysts. A casual glance at previous acquisitions – namely Lotus and Tivoli – provides a good indication of the firm’s tactics. IBM usually buys companies at an inflated price when they have passed their peek. Arbor’s share price is still rising, so analysts have suggested that IBM will wait until its efforts with DB2 OLAP Server have pushed Arbor’s share price back up to over $80 instead of its current mid-thirties, and then make a premium priced bid. And to ensure such a deal was a success, IBM would need to concentrate its efforts on retaining the Arbor smart- set, to combine its brains with IBM’s industry muscle. But both companies are playing their cards close to their chest. At this stage we are unable to comment, said Chris Hill, marketing director at Arbor. And IBM proved to be no more forthcoming; We are unable to discuss this at the moment, said Khalil Barsoum, IBM UK’s chairman and chief executive.
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