IBM to buy software company Apptio for $4.6 billion

IBM announced Monday that it will buy software company Apptio from Vista Equity Partners for $4.6 billion.

The company said the acquisition of Apptio, which provides financial and operational IT management and optimization tools, is a continuation of IBM’s investment in AI and IT automation software.

IBM said in a release that Apptio will help it advance its application management, optimization and monitoring offerings.

IBM shares closed up 1 percent on Monday.

Apptio currently serves more than 1,500 customers, including major technology companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google.