The transaction brings together the strength of HP OpenView systems, network and IT service management software with Mercury's strength in application management, application delivery, IT governance and service-oriented architecture governance, according to HP.

Jason Bloomberg, an analyst with ZapThink LLC in Baltimore, said that the deal now creates a battle of the titans between HP, CA and IBM to see who can put together the most compelete enterprise information management offering. He said the battle zone is shaping up to be over service-oriented governance.

"With the Mercury acquisition, HP now adds full lifecycle management to the mix, and what will likely turn out to be the gem of the deal: the Systinet registry, HP's answer to IBM's new [Web services] registry product," Bloomberg said.

HP said it expects the purchase to close by the end of the year.

Computerworld's Ken Mingis contributed to this report.