Salesforce Agrees to Buy Braze for $5.66 Billion in All-Cash Deal

Shares of Braze surged 52% to reach $45.59 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday after Salesforce agreed to buy the customer engagement software company for roughly $5.66 billion. Under the all-cash deal, Braze shareholders will get $47.50 per share, which is a 58.1% premium over the stock's previous closing price of $30.04. According to CNBC, shares of Salesforce slipped about 1% on Tuesday morning following the announcement.

Acquisition Details

Braze gathers customer data in real time and uses artificial intelligence to create personalized messages across mobile apps, websites, email, and text messaging. The company serves roughly 2,770 customers, including Canva, Equinox, Instacart, and Venmo. Bill Magnuson, CEO of Braze, stated that the Salesforce platform will help the company innovate faster and build deeper customer relationships. The transaction is expected to close in fiscal 2028, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Strategy and Growth

This move helps Salesforce accelerate its transition to artificial intelligence as demand for traditional software slows. Salesforce plans to use Braze's technology to strengthen its marketing unit and products like its flagship Agentforce platform. This acquisition marks a return to serial software purchases for Salesforce, following recent deals for Fin at $3.6 billion, Contentful at $1.5 billion, and Informatica at $8 billion, after a brief pause prompted by activist investors in early 2023.

Context

Large technology companies frequently acquire specialized software firms to expand their product offerings and integrate advanced artificial intelligence capabilities into their existing platforms. Such multi-billion-dollar deals typically require months of regulatory reviews before final approval and completion.