BizNomic

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), agreed on Friday to acquire marketing software company, Unica Corp. (UNCA) for around $480 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Unica, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, makes software that helps organizations analyze and predict customer preferences, helping their marketing efforts.

This is a move the technology giant says, will help customers create better-targeted marketing campaigns. Unica has more than 1,500 customers, including major retailers like Best Buy and telecoms such as US Cellular, IBM said.

IBM Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano said this year he is planning to spend about $20 billion on acquisitions in the next five years. The software unit, IBM’s most profitable, will make up about half of its earnings in 2015, the company said in May. The unit has made about 60 acquisitions since 2003.

IBM Industry Solutions General Manager Craig Hayman said IBM has been looking to expand its marketing offerings and identified Unica as the most viable and the best option, offering $21 a share to Unica holders. That price is more than double Thursday’s closing price and the highest level the stock has ever seen. IBM shares were down slightly, 0.4% to $127.78, in midday trading.

IBM’s announcement follows its recent purchase of Web analytics vendor Coremetrics. Unica’s software will work in concert with Coremetrics’ technology as well as IBM’s WebSphere Commerce platform. Vendors such as Adobe are making similar moves. In support of its “customer experience management” strategy, Adobe has purchased Web analytics provider Omniture and more recently, Web content management vendor Day Software.

IBM spokeswoman Karen Lilla said there are no plans to eliminate any of Unica’s 500 jobs. She said that company has not yet decided whether Unica’s operations will remain in Waltham or relocate to IBM’s new Mass Lab facilities in Littleton and Westford.

The company’s goal is to help customers generate a “consistent and relevant cross-channel brand experience to promote customer loyalty and satisfaction,” according to a statement. Craig Hayman, also said his company would use its global strength in business consulting to attract customers, especially in developing countries where IBM generates 20 percent of its revenues. “We believe we can connect Unica to these growing markets,’’ Hayman said.

Sheryl Kingstone, a research analyst for Yankee Group in Boston, said IBM does not, however, have much of a track record in marketing automation. “This is new for IBM,’’ Kingstone said. “They don’t necessarily have expertise here.’’ But she noted that earlier this month, it acquired Coremetrics of San Mateo, Calif., which makes marketing software that helps analyze customers’ Internet behavior. The Coremetrics and Unica deals show IBM is determined to become a major vendor of marketing software, Kingstone said.

IBM plans to spend $20 billion buying assets over the next five years to move into higher-margin businesses and away from increasingly commoditized hardware sales.