Salesforce is working with financial advisors to field bids after being approached by an unnamed party about a possible buyout, according to a Bloomberg report.
The cloud-based CRM (customer relationship managment) company has a market value of more than $40 billion. It could be the largest software acquisition ever, according to Bloomberg.
The report cited unnamed sources and did not name any potential bidders. There is no guarantee a deal will come together, the sources told Bloomberg.
Spurred by the approach of a potential acquirer, Salesforce has hired financial advisers to help it field such offers, according to the Bloomberg report, which was based on anonymous sources. The company’s stock closed up 11.6% on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, giving it a market capitalization just north of $47 billion.
Salesforce did not respond to a request for comment.
“You’d have to ask who could afford it, and who could get it done,” said Michael Fauscette, a group vice president with IDC. “The afford list is maybe: IBM, Oracle, SAP, Apple, Microsoft.”
In the “who could get it done” category, however, the list is much shorter. “IBM might seem like a logical choice, but I wonder if the fairly new CEO could pull it off – and whether [Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff] would let that happen,” Fauscette added.
IDG News Service
Ltd
