US Stock Market Move | IBM to acquire Confluent for $1.1 billion, CFLT.US surged nearly 30% in pre-market trading.

On Monday, Confluent (CFLT.US) surged nearly 30% in pre-market trading, reaching $29.91 per share; IBM (IBM.US) experienced a slight decline in pre-market trading. In terms of news, IBM announced its plans to acquire data streaming platform Confluent for a total enterprise value of around $11 billion (including debt), with a transaction price of $31 per share, corresponding to an equity value of approximately $9.3 billion. This acquisition is expected to be completed in the mid-2026 and will be one of IBM's largest strategic investments to date, aiming to strengthen its enterprise software layout in the field of real-time data processing for artificial intelligence. Unlike the recent trend in the industry focusing on AI mergers and acquisitions in the data center and computing power areas, IBM's acquisition of Confluent is primarily aimed at enhancing its capabilities in real-time data streaming software. It is known that this transaction is not a spontaneous decision, but is built upon a five-year cooperation between the two parties, with some of IBM's customers already utilizing Confluent's data streaming platform.