IBM’s Tivoli Systems to Buy Unison Software

International Business Machines Corp.’s Tivoli Systems subsidiary will buy Santa Clara-based Unison Software for about $170 million, the companies said. Under terms of the agreement, each share of Unison common stock will be converted into $15 cash or IBM common stock, the statement said. Shareholders may choose to take up to about half the total value in cash. Unison provides systems management software for open systems; its customers include such Fortune 1,000 companies as General Electric, 3M, Nestle USA, Home Depot, Motorola and Mobil Oil. The deal will combine Austin, Texas-based Tivoli’s TME 10 product line with Unison’s, simplifying management of software between mainframe and computer networks, the companies said in a statement. Shares of Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM fell $1.50 to $96.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.