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IBM buys high-end firm

Monday, July 12, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

NEW YORK -- IBM announced today it would pay $810 million for Sequent Computer Systems Inc., a struggling maker of powerful business computers, in a cash deal that aims to fill an important slot in IBM's product line.

Sequent is a leading seller of high-end computers and software that use Intel Corp.'s microprocessor chips. IBM, the world's largest computer maker, plans to use Sequent's specialized technology in networked machines it will pitch as an inexpensive substitute to traditional mainframes that handle the biggest computer jobs, such as tracking inventories.

Though Intel chips are not widely used as the brains in the heaviest-duty computers, that could change next year, when the No. 1 chip maker releases a long-awaited next-generation chip called Merced intended to work with big business machines.

Despite Sequent's leading technology, the company has succeeded only in attracting a handful of big corporate customers.

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