IBM has left the industry with one (mainframe) vendor. They have successfully foreclosed all competition in this industry," Friedman said.
They don't want any cases of anti-trust to go go court. As far as a buyout, nobody knows, but with their deep pockets a company like this is just pocket change. But if there is merit to the lawsuit, I don't claim to know because I don't have inside information, but if there is, the last thing IBM will want to do is go to court, that is a fact. IBM could settle for a lot less out of court than a jury would be willing to give.