International Business Machines (IBM) Corp said on Wednesday it would buy the Weather Company's digital assets to boost its "Watson Cloud" and "Internet of Things" platforms.
The deal, which will not include the Weather Channel cable network, would be valued at more than $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday, citing sources.
The Weather Channel will use weather forecast data and analytics from IBM under a long-term contract.
The deal highlights IBM's focus on high-growth areas such as cloud computing and analytics as it dumps low-margin businesses such as cash registers, low-end servers and semiconductors.
After the deal closes, the Weather Company Chief Executive Officer David Kenny is expected to join IBM, said the newspaper.
The Weather Company, based in Atlanta, is currently owned by private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital, and Comcast Corp's NBC Universal, which bought the firm in 2008 for about $3.5 billion.
The Weather Company, NBC Universal, Blackstone and Bain Capital declined to comment. IBM, whose shares were unchanged after hours on Tuesday, could not be reached immediately for comment.
IBM and the Weather Company, through its business-to-business division WSI, signed a deal in March to integrate the Weather Company's weather data services with IBM's cloud services.
