IBM to Buy CommQuest for $180 Million

International Business Machines Corp. said it has agreed to buy closely held CommQuest Technologies Corp. for about $180 million in cash in a move to speed the development of tiny wireless communications devices. Encinitas-based CommQuest, with about 200 workers, is a designer of computer chips used in cellular phones, among other electronics. It will operate as a unit of IBM’s microelectronics division. Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM said it expects to close the purchase in the first quarter. IBM shares closed up $1.81 at $102.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.