Cloud-based software company Salesforce.com Inc is in talks to acquire workplace messaging app Slack Technologies Inc as it seeks to expand its offerings to businesses, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.
Dow Jones noted that while there’s no guarantee that a deal will happen, any acquisition would likely value Slack above its $17 billion market cap, which surged to $20 billion along with shares of the company. Yesterday, Daniel Ives and Strecker Backe wrote, “This deal would be a major shot across the bow at Microsoft. With the company’s Teams offering a direct messaging competitor against Slack that has been a clear hurdle to growth and now would be a two horse race between Microsoft and Salesforce.”
Salesforce sees the potential acquisition as a logical extension of its enterprise offerings, the sources said. The price it was offering for Slack could not be learnt, though one of the sources said Salesforce would pay cash for the deal, rather than use its stock as currency. Slack has benefited from companies relying more on information technology systems to keep their workers connected during the pandemic. Rishi Jaluria, an analyst at research firm DA Davidson and Co. said, “I think Microsoft Teams has been able to capitalize on the opportunity better than Slack, partly because they give it away for free as a bundle.”
Post Your Comments