Technology giant IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire i2, a provider of intelligence analytics for crime and fraud prevention based in Cambridge, UK with U.S. headquarters in McLean, Va., to accelerate its business analytics initiatives and help clients in the public and private sectors address crime, fraud and security threats. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition extends IBM's presence in helping clients harness big data-- information and intelligence coming from disparate and unstructured sources including social media, biometrics and criminal databases-- through the addition of i2's intelligence analysis and tactical lead generation capabilities, which help enterprises combat fraud and security threats. i2's clients span multiple sectors globally such as banking, defense, health care, insurance, law enforcement, national security and retail. The company’s solutions are currently used by 12 of the top 20 retail banks globally and eight of the top 10 largest companies in the world.
After the acquisition i2 will be integrated into IBM's Software Group. In a joint statement, the companies said the acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews.
"The combination of i2's products and IBM's advanced data collection and warehousing technologies will be compelling for clients seeking to enhance situational awareness and make connections between seemingly unrelated information from oceans of data," said Robert Griffin, CEO of i2. "i2's existing clients will be at home with IBM, a company known for its ability to help organizations make the most of their data assets."
According to FBI statistics, in 2009 there were 1.3 million violent crimes, 9.3 million property crimes and 6.3 million larceny/thefts in the United States. Consumer-facing fraud for retailers alone costs $100 billion a year in the United States. Using IBM real-time analytical solutions in combination with the technologies of i2, public agencies and private enterprises battling fraud will now have the capability to collect, analyze and process all the relevant data at their disposal.
"IBM's goal is to better equip public safety officials and businesses with the information and tools they need to ensure safer cities," said Craig Hayman, general manager of industry solutions at IBM. "The combined capabilities of IBM and i2 will help customers uncover patterns and trends that will allow them to more effectively protect the privacy and safety of citizens, businesses and governments."
