According to the Wall Street Journal, IBM is in advanced talks to acquire software company Apptio as it seeks to expand in the field of automation technology.

A Vista spokeswoman declined to comment. IBM representatives were not immediately available for comment. According to earlier reports, the two sides are discussing a price of between $4.5 billion and $5 billion (32.3 billion to 35.9 billion yuan), and a deal could be reached by the end of the week.

Vista Equity Partners announced in January 2019 that it was taking Apptio private for $38 per share, or about $1.94 billion (currently about 13.949 billion yuan) in cash. The acquisition price announced by IBM this time is 4.5 to 5 billion US dollars (IT home note: the current about 32.355 to 35.95 billion yuan), which is more than twice the price five years ago.

Founded in 2007, Apptio sells online services that help businesses manage information technology budgets, forecasts and analytics. According to the company’s website, most Fortune 100 companies use its products. Apptio is currently owned by private Equity firm Vista Equity Partners.

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This follows IBM’s acquisition of software provider Turbonomic for more than $1.5 billion in 2021 and software company Red Hat for $34 billion in 2019.

According to the previous official announcement of IBM 2023 fiscal year first quarter financial results. In the first quarter, IBM’s total revenue was $14.252 billion, an increase of 0.4% compared to $14.197 billion in the year-ago quarter, and an increase of 4.4% excluding the impact of currency changes. Net income was $927 million, up from $733 million a year earlier. Profit from continuing operations was $934 million, up 41% from $662 million in the prior year period.

It is worth noting that in the first quarter of 2023, IBM’s automation segment revenue decreased by 1% year-over-year, excluding the impact of currency changes, the change was about 2% year-over-year. That’s slower than most other parts of IBM, including data and artificial intelligence, security, hybrid platforms and solutions, transaction processing, and more.

It is unclear whether the roughly $5 billion price tag for Apptio includes debt.