MuleSoft Spikes 20% Following Report Of Takeover Interest From Salesforce (Update)

Shares of Mulesoft Inc MULE spiked more than 25 percent Tuesday morning after the company was named as a potential acquisition target.

What Happened

Mulesoft, a provider of integration software for connecting applications, data and devices, is in advanced talks to be acquired by salesforce.com, inc. CRM, Reuters reported.

Why It's Important

Mulesoft's Anypoint technology is said to be a "disruptive" force within the enterprise software industry, Nomura's Christopher Eberle said in January. By 2020, an estimated $2.5 trillion will be spent on the digital transformation with $500 billion coming from enterprise software.

"With a large potential TAM and product capabilities well ahead of the competition, MULE is poised to continue to gain share against the legacy incumbents in the integration software market," Eberle said.

The analyst's bullish stance on Mulesoft may explain Salesforce's potential interest in acquiring the company.

A Salesforce spokesperson told Benzinga the company doesn't comment on rumors.

What's Next

Reuters said an acquisition agreement could be announced as early as this week, although a deal is in no way guaranteed.

At time of publication, MuleSoft was trading up 20.5 percent at $39.83.

Update: At 4:30 p.m., Salesforce confirmed a deal to buy MuleSoft at $36 per share in cash. MuleSoft closed at $42.00, up 27 percent, and was trading up about 3.5 percent in the after-hours session.

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