Dassault Systemes rose as much as 7.6 percent in Paris, the biggest intraday gain in three months, after unveiling plans to buy the IBM business that sells and supports its Product Lifecycle Management software, including customer contracts. IBM, the worlds biggest computer-services company, and Dassault Systemes aim to complete the deal by the second quarter of next year, the companies said in a statement today.
“Its an excellent financial operation,” Aurel BGC in Paris wrote in a note to investors. “It unifies the channels of distribution for - - - - >

While recent bullish profit reports have fueled the stock market, a true economic revival will depend on consumers opening their wallets. So far, theres little evidence of that.
Big names such as Caterpillar, IBM, Whirlpool, Pfizer, 3M and Lowes boosted profit forecasts for 2009 following a slew of second-quarter earning reports that blew past lackluster expectations. Yet the gains arent coming from sales.
Rather, companies are slashing everything from jobs to officer perks to boost the bottom line and please investors who have responded by pushing the major stock indexes to their highest levels in months.
None of this is surprising coming out - - - - >

Southeastern Asset Management Inc. paid a total of $2.13 billion, or an average of $13.25 a share, for its 22 percent stake in Sun, according to a January regulatory filing. A deal at $9.40 a share would mean a payout of about $1.5 billion for Southeastern.
Southeasterns situation highlights the dilemma for some Sun investors: whether to push for the takeover and accept some losses, or count on Sun Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz to turn around the business. Suns shares had fallen about 80 percent in - - - - >

Hewlett-Packard Co., which held merger talks with Sun last year, has no plans to return to the negotiating table, according to a person familiar with the situation. Cisco Systems Inc. and Dell Inc., also mentioned as possible acquirers, are unlikely to bid, said Bill Kreher, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co.
“Others have already passed over Sun — given that, were unsure who would step up to the plate,” Kreher, who is based in St. Louis, said in an interview. “We are unsure if the company - - - - >

Network gear makers QLogic Corp. and Emulex Corp. would be among suppliers with fewer places to sell their products, channeling pricing power to buyers, said Peter Falvey, managing director of investment bank Revolution Partners LLC. IBM is in talks to buy computer-server maker Sun, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
QLogic, Emulex and Mellanox Technologies Ltd., which makes products that help servers communicate, have a combined market value of less than $3 billion and their annual sales are equal to about 1 percent of IBMs. - - - - >

The Securities and Exchange Board of India approved plans for Satyam to sell 51 percent of the company, the Hyderabad-based software-services provider said today. International Business Machines Corp. may be the front-runner to acquire the Indian company, the Business Standard reported yesterday, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Satyam shares rose 20 percent, valuing the company at 28.4 billion rupees ($550 million). Its state-appointed board is expediting the sale to woo back investors after founder and former chairman Ramalinga Raju said in January he inflated assets - - - - >