IBM on Tuesday said it will sell its weather business, The Weather Company, which has its headquarters and largest office in metro Atlanta, to a California investment fund for an undisclosed price.
As part of the deal with tech-focused investor Francisco Partners, The Weather Company and its suite of business and consumer product lines will become a standalone business.
IBM acquired The Weather Company in 2015 from The Weather Channel. The operations, based in Brookhaven, include The Weather Channel digital app and cloud-based operations, Weather.com, Weather Underground and business services for a number of industries.
The Weather Channel television network, which is based in Cobb County, remains a separate entity and is not a part of this transaction.
The Weather Company’s services are used by more than 415 million people per month and by more than 2,000 businesses, according to a news release. The business currently employs about 700, including more than 200 in metro Atlanta, an IBM spokeswoman said. In November 2016, The Weather Company said it employed about 700 in the Atlanta area and at that time planned a 400-job expansion.
IBM, which according to Bloomberg News has been contemplating a sale of The Weather Company since at least April, will continue to use services from the standalone company after the divestiture. The computing giant said it will retain its environmental sustainability software business, including its Environmental Intelligence Suite.
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“We’re proud of what The Weather Company team has accomplished with IBM, and we are confident that the best path forward is as a standalone company benefiting from Francisco Partners’ expanded investment, dedication and expertise. We’re excited to see the next phase of The Weather Company’s journey,” IBM Chief Commercial Officer Rob Thomas said in the release.
IBM has shifted much of its business into cloud-based services and artificial intelligence. Thomas said in the release that IBM regularly assesses its portfolio and the sale “reflects our continued focus on these two transformational technologies.”
The deal is expected to be completed early next year, the release said.
Francisco Partners, which touts investments in more than 400 tech-related companies in more than two decades in business, has experience investing in businesses carved out of other companies. In announcing the deal, the companies said Francisco Partners would inject resources into the company and expand its product offerings beyond weather forecasting.
“Amid the growing volatility of weather, The Weather Company’s unique set of consumer, media, and industry-specific products provide mission critical, data-driven weather insights to individuals and businesses around the world,” Alan Ni, partner at Francisco Partners, said in the release. “We are excited to partner with the management team to grow The Weather Company’s robust portfolio of technology offerings and deliver a great product experience for its customers.”
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