Gerrit De Vynck (Bloomberg) -- IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty bought about $3 million in company shares, the latest move to shore up investor support for the $33 billion acquisition of Red Hat Inc.
Rometty purchased roughly $1 million in the open market and $2 million through an IBM retirement fund. The CEO now owns more than 314,000 IBM shares. Four board members and several other senior executives also bought stock, according to a regulatory filing.
International Business Machines Corp. recently committed to buy back $4 billion worth of shares. The acquisition of Red Hat is the biggest in Big Blue’s history.
IBM shares are down about 25 percent this year as the company struggles to grow revenue in its newer businesses. The stock has fallen 7.3 percent to $115.67 since the acquisition was announced Oct. 28.
