IBM Corp said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire U.S. software company Red Hat Inc for $34 billion, including debt, as it seeks to diversify its technology hardware and consulting business into higher-margin products and services.

The transaction is by far IBM's biggest acquisition. It underscores IBM chief executive Ginni Rometty's efforts to expand the company's subscription-based software offerings, as it faces slowing software sales and waning demand for mainframe servers.

"The acquisition of Red Hat is a game-changer ... IBM will become the world's No. 1 hybrid cloud provider, offering companies the only open cloud solution that will unlock the full value of the cloud for their businesses," Rometty said in a statement.

IBM, which has a market capitalization of $114 billion, will pay $190 per share in cash for Red Hat, a 62 percent premium to Friday's closing share price.

Founded in 1993, Red Hat specializes in Linux operating systems, the most popular type of open-source software, which was developed as an alternative to proprietary software made by Microsoft Corp.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Red Hat charges fees to its corporate customers for custom features, maintenance and technical support, offering IBM a lucrative source of subscription revenue.

The acquisition illustrates how older technology companies are turning to dealmaking to gain scale and fend off competition, especially in cloud computing, where customers using enterprise software are seeking to save money by consolidating their vendor relationships.

IBM is hoping the deal will help it catch up with Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc and Microsoft in the rapidly growing cloud business. IBM shares have lost almost a third of their value in the last five years, while Red Hat shares are up 170 percent over the same period.

Reuters