By Niladri Sekhar Nath - IBM has acquired Costa Mesa-based publicly held company FileNet Corporation in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $1.6 billion or $35 per share.

However, FileNet shareholders have to approve the acquisition. Regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions will also play a vital role in finalizing the deal. FileNet offers business process and content management solutions.

According to a press release, the acquisition is a part of IBM�s (News - Alert) Information on Demand initiative launched in February 2006. The Information on Demand initiative integrates IBM�s software, services, partners and industry consulting expertise to enhance clients� business performance. IBM claims that strategy will help clients improve their business processes, quickly respond to market needs and identify new business opportunities fast.
Thanks to the acquisition, the customers will be able to profit from the combined capabilities of both companies. The brilliance of IBM and FileNet makes sure that customers can handle archiving and document retention better.

IBM also has plans to improve the Content Management technologies of both companies to offer customers and partners with the solutions to deliver content as part of a business process.

�The combination of IBM and FileNet will provide our customers and partners with industry-focused content management solutions that offer a new level of business value,� sums up Ambuj Goyal, general manager, IBM Information Management.

After the acquisition, IBM will combine FileNet�s operations with its Content Management business in the Information Management unit, in addition to integrating IBM�s BPM and Service Oriented Architecture technologies with the FileNet platform.