engine - 5:53 pm on Jun 15, 2010 (gmt 0)

IBM To Buy Business Analytics Company, Coremetrics [online.wsj.com]

International Business Machines (IBM) said on Tuesday it would buy Coremetrics Inc. for an undisclosed amount, an acquisition that adds to its growing portfolio of business-analytics products. Privately-held Coremetrics scours the Internet for consumer feedback on products and services, and then delivers the results to clients over the Internet. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company already tracks some 2,100 global brands for a wide range of clients, including Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Office Depot Inc. (OD).

Clients often use the data collected by Coremetrics to make decisions about marketing budgets. The company, founded in 1999, will become part of IBM's application-and-integration middleware portfolio.