Chipmaker Broadcom Inc. announced late Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire information technology management software company CA Technologies for 18.9 billion U.S. dollars in cash.

CA Technologies is one of the world's leading providers of information technology management software and services, whose business will not overlap with that of California-based Broadcom. Broadcom, as a top chipmaker, mainly provides components for computers, smartphones and networking equipment.

Broadcom said the merger, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, will be closed by the end of this year.

The latest acquisition will represent the expansion of the semiconductor powerhouse into an entirely new area featuring cloud-based and traditional enterprise software business.

Under the terms of agreement, Broadcom will pay 44.50 dollars per share, about 20 percent higher than the closing price for CA's shares Wednesday.

"This transaction represents an important building block as we create one of the world's leading infrastructure technology companies," said Hock Tan, president and chief executive officer of Broadcom.