Brazilian holding company EBX and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership to support the growth strategies of the two corporations. This strategic partnership would cover a wide variety of business initiatives to meet the natural resources and infrastructure sectors.
Among the possible areas of collaboration within the strategic partnership are the evaluation and implementation of industry-specific solutions, joint development of research and development related to intellectual property, new business opportunities through SIX Automation SA (a subsidiary of Grupo EBX focused on industrial automation) as well as infrastructure and IT services to the EBX Group, which is owned by Eike Batista, Brazil’s wealthiest man.
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In a news release, Batista, president of EBX Group, said that by seeking to partner with IBM, his company is taking an important step toward greater efficiency and competitiveness. “ We are delighted with this association with IBM to support the growth of our business and continue to bring innovation and technology to Brazil,” Batista said.
During an IBM news conference last week, IBM Brazil CEO Ricardo Pelegrini said the companies’ roles are still being defined and that nothing has been set. “It will be a mega, big partnership, and it has to be good for the both sides.”
Current, EBX is an IBM client for hardware and software but not services. Without revealing names, Pelegrini said that Big Blue already has contracts with the same terms the company is aiming to sign with EBX.
The range of possibilities are enormous, and the speculations include the EBX firm’s SIX become an IBM channel; IBM could create an area to develop specific products to attend EBX needs or even there is the possibility of a joint venture.
In statement, both companies said the parties intend to enter into definitive agreements with respect to the areas to be covered in this strategic partnership as soon as negotiations and due diligence activities are completed and all corporate and regulatory approvals obtained.
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