California-based Salesforce is in advanced talks to acquire business software maker Informatica, reports claimed. The deal could be sealed and announced in the near future, news agency Reuters quoted a source familiar with the confidential discussions that took place between the two groups as saying.
Salesforce will put forth a price that is below Informatica's stock price of $38.48, the report published on Friday said. However, there were no official reactions from either party to the news report.
Informatica, based out of California's Redwood City, reportedly meets the cloud-based demands of more than 5,000 active customers including Deloitte and Unilever. It was taken private in 2015 for about $5.3 billion by a consortium that included private equity firm Permira Advisers Ltd and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. According to Reuters, the company's market capitalization of about $11.35 billion.
Salesforce had earlier acquired workplace messaging app Slack Technologies in 2020 in a $27.7 billion deal, betting on an extended run for remote working. In early 2023, Salesforce had become a target for activist investors to push for changes resulting in cost cuts and increased share buybacks, Reuters said. As part of a series of steps taken since activist investors including ValueAct Capital and Elliott Management acquired stakes in Salesforce, the company had disbanded its M&A board committee.