IBM CEO Ginni Rometty is desperately trying to offload loss-making businesses, but she is not so desperate that she will pay any price.
That became apparent when it emerged that IBM was willing to pay chip-maker Globalfoundries $1bn to take the business off its hands.
IBM's chip-making unit reportedly loses as much as $1.5bn a year and Globalfoundries was asking for $2bn, but Rometty said no.
These facts were revealed by a source "familiar with the process", according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Rometty is doing her best to get IBM back into positive growth territory after more than two years — nine quarters — of falling revenues.
Globalfoundries has made no secret of the fact that its primary interest in buying the business was the intellectual property and the people — skilled IBM engineers.