IBM to Buy Confluent for $11 Billion to Expand AI Services

International Business Machines Corp. is buying the data-streaming platform Confluent Inc. for $11 billion including debt, marking one of its largest takeovers yet and a major bet on the kind of enterprise software that artificial intelligence tools need to perform tasks in real time.

IBM will pay $31 a share, according to a statement issued Monday. The offer values Confluent at about $10.9 billion on an equity basis, according to Bloomberg calculations of its outstanding Class A and Class B stock.