- Salesforce and Slack have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Slack for $27.7 billion. These are the details.
CRM leader Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) and enterprise communications platform company Slack Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: WORK) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Slack. Under the terms of the agreement, Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share — representing an enterprise value of approximately $27.7 billion based on the closing price of Salesforce’s common stock on November 30, 2020.
The combination of Slack with Salesforce Customer 360 will be transformative for customers and the industry. And the combination will create the operating system for the new way to work as it uniquely enables companies to grow in the all-digital world.
Salesforce and Slack will give companies a single source of truth for their business and a unified platform for connecting employees, customers, and partners with each other and the apps they use every day — all within their existing workflows.
Going forward, Slack will be deeply integrated into every Salesforce Cloud. And as the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360, Slack will transform how people communicate, collaborate and take action on customer information across Salesforce as well as information from all of their other business apps and systems to be more productive and create connected customer experiences.
Slack is serving leading organizations in every industry around the world — from the fastest growing startups to Fortune 500 companies like Starbucks, Target and TD Ameritrade — along with leading academic institutions, non-profits, and governments in more than 150 countries. And as part of the world’s #1 CRM, Slack will be able to expand its presence in the enterprise, not just among Salesforce customers but for any company undergoing digital transformation.
Slack’s open platform seamlessly integrates with over 2,400 apps that people use to collaborate, communicate, and get work done. And with the largest enterprise app ecosystem, the Salesforce platform is the easiest way to build and deliver apps to connect with customers in a whole new way.
Together, Salesforce and Slack will create the most extensive open ecosystem of apps and workflows for business and empower millions of developers to build the next generation of apps with clicks not code. And following the close of the transaction, Slack will become an operating unit of Salesforce and will continue to be led by CEO Stewart Butterfield.
The board of directors at each company have approved the transaction and the Slack board recommends that Slack stockholders approve the transaction and adopt the merger agreement. And the transaction is anticipated to close in the second quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2022, subject to approval by the Slack stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Salesforce also entered into a voting agreement with certain stockholders of Slack common stock under which each such stockholder has agreed to vote all of their Slack shares in favor of the transaction at the special meeting of Slack stockholders to be held in connection with the transaction, subject to certain terms and conditions. The Slack shares subject to the agreement represent about 55% of the current outstanding voting power of the Slack common stock.
Salesforce is expecting to fund the cash portion of the transaction consideration with a combination of new debt and cash on Salesforce’s balance sheet. And Salesforce has obtained a commitment from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Bank of America, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. for a $10 billion senior unsecured 364-day bridge loan facility, subject to customary conditions.
KEY QUOTES:
“Stewart and his team have built one of the most beloved platforms in enterprise software history, with an incredible ecosystem around it. This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. I’m thrilled to welcome Slack to the Salesforce Ohana once the transaction closes.”
— Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce
“Salesforce started the cloud revolution, and two decades later, we are still tapping into all the possibilities it offers to transform the way we work. The opportunity we see together is massive. As software plays a more and more critical role in the performance of every organization, we share a vision of reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility, and ultimately a greater degree of alignment and organizational agility. Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going.”
— Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder
