IBM buys local firm Kenexa

Kenexa Corp., the Wayne-based human-resource systems software and research company, will be acquired by IBM for $46 per share or $1.3 billion in cash, Kenexa officials announced.

Kenexa's client base includes Starbucks, CVS, Boeing, Verizon and the U.S. Navy. One asset Kenexa brings to the deal is its massive surveying capacity, with international data on employee attitudes.

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty has stated that "organizations can think of big data as the next, great natural resource."

IBM projects its business-analytics revenue will reach $16 billion by 2015. Kenexa, headed by CEO Rudy Karsan with 2,800 employees in 21 countries, will be integrated into IBM's Software and Services Groups.

While Karsan said that it was IBM's intention to purchase Kenexa's customers, technology and employees, neither he nor Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business at IBM would specifically address the future of the 239 employees who work in Kenexa's headquarters.

 - Jane M. Von Bergen