IBM explores sale of weather business

So far, it doesn't appear as if any strategic buyers are interested in the rain, wind or snow. But private equity seems a likely candidate for buying IBM's weather business, especially given the expected price tag.

Driving the news: IBM is exploring a sale of the unit, including weather.com, in a deal that could fetch more than $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: The move is part of IBM's push to streamline its operations to focus more on growing its cloud services and artificial intelligence businesses.

Of note: The WSJ said that no buyers have emerged as of now, with private equity firms the likely candidates to kick the tires.

The big picture: IBM has been selling off non-core assets in recent years.

• Last year, IBM sold the data and analytics assets from its Watson Health business to Francisco Partners. In 2021, IBM spun off IT infrastructure and data management provider Kyndryl Holdings.

Catch up quick: IBM bought The Weather Company's digital assets in 2015 for more than $2 billion.

• That deal included everything but The Weather Company's TV business, The Weather Channel. Byron Allen purchased The Weather Channel's parent company in a separate deal in 2018 for $300 million.