Confluent (CFLT) stock slips to $30 as IBM’s $31 deal caps upside — what investors watch next
New York, Jan 2, 2026, 20:47 ET — Market closed Confluent, Inc. (CFLT) shares closed down 0.4% at $30.11 on Friday, ending the first trading day of 2026 just under IBM’s $31-per-share cash offer. IBM has said the all-cash acquisition values Confluent at an enterprise value of $11 billion, is expected to close by mid-2026, and has support agreements from investors controlling about 62% of Confluent’s voting power. Yahoo Finance The stock’s small discount to the offer price is the metric merger-arbitrage traders watch. Merger arbitrage is a strategy of buying a takeover target to capture the gap to the