Rivalry ends as IBM acquires PSI

IBM has acquired Platform Solutions, Inc. (PSI), a privately held technology company headquartered in California. The decision brings the longstanding rivalry between IBM and PSI, involving intellectual property accusations and unfair competitive practices, to a dramatic close.

In a statement, IBM executives said PSI's employees and its intellectual property and mainframe technologies would eventually be merged into IBM's System z mainframe division. Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

"This acquisition makes the most sense for our companies - to collaborate on future technology offerings and maximize our combined knowledge and skills for the benefit of IBM clients' globally." said Michael Maulick, president and CEO of Platform Solutions, Inc.

"IBM's strategy is to continually evolve our mainframe technology to help our clients tackle the most demanding business issues," Anne Altman, general manager of IBM System z, said in a statement.

"We will continue to move the mainframe forward through both IBM innovation and by acquiring new technologies. We welcome Platform Solutions, Inc., and look forward to collaborating with them."

As part of this acquisition, both IBM and PSI dropped their respective claims against each other.