JPMorgan Chase is in exclusive talks with IBM on a computer outsourcing deal that could be worth more than $5 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The story, which cited people familiar with the talks, says the two companies are negotiating a 7-year deal under which IBM would assume responsibility for IT operations in retail banking, mortgages and trading and securities processing at the US bank.
The WSJ says the bank moved into exclusive neogitiations with IBM amid concerns about the financial status of rival bidder EDS, which slashed earnings estimates in September and disclosed it borrowed $225 million to cover a bad bet on its own stock price.