IBM Acquires Confluent for $11 Billion to Power Real-Time AI Data

IBM announced on December 8, 2025, that it’s buying data streaming company Confluent for $11 billion in cash. The deal offers $31 per share for all of Confluent’s outstanding common stock—a 34% premium over the $23.14 closing price from the previous Friday, sending Confluent shares up 29% in early trading. IBM’s stock barely moved. Read the full details in CNBC’s report.

Why IBM Went After Confluent

IBM wants Confluent’s real-time data streaming tech, built on open-source Kafka, to feed its AI push. “Data, and especially real-time data, is incredibly important to how an enterprise functions,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. “Nobody can live with month-old data, or even week-old data.” He added that Confluent unlocks real-time data value better than anyone. Bloomberg covers the push to expand AI services.

Global data will more than double by 2028, IBM says, with AI agents ramping up in 2026. Confluent helps manage data flows securely for those agents across clouds and apps. It fits IBM’s recent buys, like HashiCorp for $6.4 billion last year and Apptio for $4.6 billion in 2023—all cash deals to build hybrid cloud and AI tools. Analysts at Wedbush called it a “strong move” that adds data processing to kill silos for AI. TechCrunch covers how this stacks up with IBM’s other AI plays, including its Anthropic partnership and Seek AI purchase, in their article.

Confluent serves over 6,500 clients and partners with Anthropic, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Snowflake.

How the Acquisition Process Unfolded

Reuters reported IBM nearing a roughly $11 billion deal. The companies signed a definitive agreement on December 8. IBM pays $31 cash per share, valuing the enterprise at $11 billion. Closing is set for mid-2026, pending Confluent shareholder approval and regulators. Krishna said Confluent joins IBM’s software unit as a “smart data platform for enterprise IT, purpose-built for AI.” AP News has the joint statement.

Implications for IBM and the Market

IBM expects the deal to boost EBITDA and free cash flow within two years post-close. Clients get better AI deployment with trusted data flows between clouds, data centers, apps, and APIs—keeping data clean and connected. Wedbush kept its overweight rating on IBM with a $325 target (IBM closed Friday at $307.94). This is IBM’s biggest buy in years, signaling more AI-focused deals ahead, accelerating cloud drive as AI demand booms per Reuters.