IBM and Kenexa today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Kenexa in a cash transaction at a price of $46 per share, or at a net price of approximately $1.3 billion.

The acquisition will help IBM's clients embrace social business capabilities while gaining insights from the enormous streams of information generated from social networks every day.

Kenexa, a provider of recruiting and talent management solutions, brings a combination of Cloud-based technology and consulting services that integrates both people and processes, providing solutions to engage a more effective workforce across their most critical business functions.

Kenexa complements IBM's strategy of bringing relevant data and expertise into the hands of business leaders within every functional department, from sales and marketing to product development and human resources. As a result of this synergy, clients will be able to attract and develop the right skills to build the right teams, for the right projects, the first time.

"Every company, across every business operation, is looking to tap into the power of social networking to transform the way they work, collaborate and out innovate their competitors," said Alistair Rennie, general manager, social business, IBM. "IBM is uniquely positioned to help clients generate real returns from their social business investments, while helping them gain intelligence into the data being generated in these networks to be more competitive in their markets."

With Kenexa's front-office process solutions, IBM will be able to offer strategic consulting, a social technology platform, and expertise on a global scale.

IBM expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, subject to Kenexa shareholder and regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.