Salesforce Strikes $8 Billion Acquisition To Boost AI And Data Cloud Power

Informatica Inc. INFA stock surged on Monday amid reports that Salesforce Inc. CRM is weighing the acquisition of the software company after a prior deal failed to fructify in 2024.

On Tuesday, Salesforce officially agreed to acquire Informatica for approximately $8 billion in equity value, net of Salesforce’s current investment in Informatica.

Under the terms of the agreement, holders of Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stock will receive $25 in cash per share.

Also Read: Salesforce’s Agentforce AI, Data Cloud Strengthen Long-Term Growth Potential: Analyst

Upon close, Salesforce plans to rapidly integrate Informatica’s technology stack including data integration, quality, governance, and unified metadata for Agentforce, and a single data pipeline with MDM on Data Cloud.

Salesforce will also support Informatica’s continued strategy of building best-in-class, AI-powered data management products.

Salesforce plans to invest in Informatica’s ecosystem of data and infrastructure partners and apply Salesforce’s marketing and distribution teams to accelerate the growth of Informatica’s cloud business.

Cloud Software Group, formerly Citrix Systems Inc had also eyed the deal, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Informatica held $1.9 billion in total debt, as per Bloomberg data.

Informatica stock, down over 24% in the last 12 months, has long been a potential takeover target. However, Bloomberg analyst Sunil Rajgopal highlighted an overlap between Informatica and Salesforce’s MuleSoft unit could attract regulatory scrutiny.

In April 2024, Salesforce ended its acquisition discussions with Informatica after disagreeing on terms.

Informatica, founded in 1993, provides customers with cloud-based, subscription data management services and automation solutions, including Unilever and Deloitte. 

In early 2023, Salesforce faced criticism for its acquisition strategy from activist investors such as ValueAct Capital and Elliott Management, leading to cost reductions, increased share repurchases, and the dissolution of its mergers and acquisitions board committee. 

Salesforce has acquired numerous companies over the years, including Tableau Software for $15.7 billion in 2019 and Slack Technologies for nearly $28 billion in 2020, marking its most significant acquisitions.

Salesforce held $14.03 billion in cash and equivalents as of January 31, 2025.

BofA Securities analyst Brad Sills rerated the stock backed by Salesforce Sales Cloud as the company’s flagship offering, generating an estimated subscription revenue of $7.9 billion in fiscal 2026.

It is growing at an estimated 9% growth rate (constant currency), keeping pace with Sills’ estimate for total company subscription revenue.

Price Actions: INFA shares traded higher by 5.63% at $23.82 premarket on the last check Tuesday. CRM shares traded higher by 0.57%.

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