IBM Buys Sterling Commerce From AT&T for $1.4 Billion

AT&T didn’t get much of a return on its dotcom-era acquisition of Sterling Commerce. The carrier, whose predecessor, SBC Communications, bought Sterling for $3.9 billion in stock back in 2000, sold the business-to-business services provider to IBM today for about $1.4 billion in cash.

Evidently, now that Sterling is, in the words of an AT&T (T) spokesperson, “no longer core to AT&T’s long-term strategic objectives,” the carrier was happy to unload it, even at a loss.

And that loss, of course, is IBM’s (IBM) gain. Sterling, whose global client list is about 18,000 strong, is certain to bolster IBM’s presence in the business-to-business market and aid Big Blue’s efforts to transform itself into a global business services company.