Cloud Computing Software ‘Salesforce’ to Snap up Business Communication Platform Slack for $27.7 Bn

The American cloud-based software company ‘Salesforce’ has stated that it will acquire the work-chat service platform ‘Slack’ for 27.7 billion dollars in cash and stock, the latest wave of agreements as the (COVID-19) pandemic stimulates the demand for tools that allow people to work from a distance.

However, the agreement between the two companies marks one of the largest acquisitions in the business software industry in the last few years and the largest Salesforce purchase ever. The deal is aimed to give both organizations a better chance to compete with Microsoft, a long-standing industrial powerhouse.

The President of the Salesforce organization Bret Taylor stated that the epidemic had fundamentally shifted consumer behavior and the way people work. Therefore, acquiring the workplace chat app ‘Stack’ would help Salesforce’s customers make the digital transformation.

According to the deal’s announcement, the shareholders will receive close to $27 in cash and close 0.1 shares of Salesforce stock in return for every Slack share or dividend. As well, Salesforce indicated that it intends to integrate Slack’s communications software into all aspects of its cloud software offerings.

Meanwhile, the cloud computing giant ‘Salesforce’ has been highly acquisitive as it looks to expand and the firm has bought at least 60 companies, including 27 during the last five years.

Furthermore, the workplace software organization slack was founded in 2010 by its current CEO, has experienced rapid growth and has previously attracted and rejected the take-over offers from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. In September, the company saw a significant increase in demand and usage of Slack, as well as the organization, has reported that revenue grew 39% in the three months ending in October.

Moreover, the Butterfield will continue to dominate Slack, which will become a business unit of Salesforce and valued at approximately $19.5 billion when it was made public last year, but its shares sank later.

Lastly, the San Francisco-based ‘Salesforce’ was among the companies that tendered for the purchase of Linkedin in 2016, before Microsoft took over the professional networking service for over $26 billion in the year 2016.