IBM Considering Sale Of Watson Health Unit To Streamline Operations

IBM may sell the Watson Health business its Watson Health business to further streamline the company.

Sources familiar with the matter said that the plan is part of the strategy that is being implemented by its new chief executive officer, Arvind Krishna.

The same sources said that IBM is currently reviewing several possible scenarios, including the sale of the unit to a private equity company or a possible merger with a blank check company to raise capital.

The shift in IBM's focus comes after the appointment of its new CEO last year. Krishna succeeded the company's longtime CEO, Ginni Rometty. Krishna reportedly wants to turn the company's cloud-computing business around and to catch up to rivals Microsoft and Amazon in the lucrative segment.

Late last year, IBM said that it was planning to separate parts of its IT services operations, IBM's biggest-ever business exit. The plan to sell IBM Watson Health is likely a continuation of that strategy as the company seeks to become more competitive in the cloud computing space.

IBM has mostly been left behind as its rivals experienced massive market valuation growth over the past years. IBM currently has a market valuation of around $108 billion, a far cry from the valuations of its closest rivals, which have soared past the trillion-dollar mark.

IBM Watson Health was one of the company's highest-profile initiatives. IBM spent billions of dollars acquiring related businesses to grow the subsidiary. Despite its substantial investments, IBM Watson failed to become a cohesive business for the company.

IBM Watson Health primarily works with hospitals, insurers, and healthcare companies by supplying them with advanced technologies such as cloud services, big data, analytics, and artificial intelligence solutions. The subsidiary, which has yet to make a profit, generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

Brands that operate under the IBM unit include Merge Healthcare, Phytel, and Truven Health Analytics. Merge offers mammogram and MRI analysis services, Phytel provides advanced patient communications solutions, and Truven offers healthcare data analysis services.