Salesforce drops Informatica takeover following investor wariness

Salesforce has found itself in a difficult position as discussions regarding an Informatica takeover face hurdles.

According to Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the matter, talks have stagnated as the two companies struggle to reach mutually agreeable terms.

At the same time, investors have expressed concerns regarding the terms and efficacy of the proposed takeover, sending stock prices for both Salesforce and Informatica on a downward trajectory.

Salesforce’s Informatica takeover on hold

Despite initial interest from both parties, negotiations have slowed with the two companies struggling to agree on pricing, according to the unnamed source.

Informatica’s shares closed at $35.19 on Friday, giving the company a market cap of around $10.5 billion, which highlights the substantial stakes involved in the potential deal.

Should the acquisition proceed, it would become one in a number of companies Salesforce has acquired recently in its expensive spending spree. The California company acquired Slack in 2021 for over $27 billion, and Tableau in 2019 for more than $15 billion.

Many have been quick to point out the cloud-based software company’s fairly mediocre single-digit growth – the company projects a 9% year-on-year growth for the upcoming fiscal year, down two percentage points from last year. 

The projected 35% increase in revenue for Informatica’s Cloud Subscription ARR business could help to turn things around for Salesforce, should the deal go through, but how much impact that could have on Salesforce given Informatica’s considerably smaller size overall has clearly been playing on investors’ minds.

Opinions continue to be divided as talks continue between Salesforce and Informatica, as the two companies battle both mutual agreements and investor satisfaction, emphasizing the precarious nature of large acquisition deals and the weighty influence of third parties.

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