Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) said it intends to acquire customer-engagement platform Braze in a cash transaction valued at approximately $5.66 billion in enterprise value, expanding its marketing offerings with real-time, mobile-focused customer engagement capabilities.
Under the agreement, holders of Braze Class A common stock would receive $47.50 in cash per share. Robin Washington, Salesforce’s President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer, said the price represents about five times Braze’s expected fiscal 2028 revenue and approximately 2.5% of Salesforce’s enterprise value.
Salesforce expects to fund the purchase with cash and does not currently expect to require debt financing. Washington said the cash consideration is equivalent to roughly four months of Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 annual free cash flow.
Transaction Expected to Close in Fiscal 2028
The proposed acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from Braze shareholders and required regulatory approvals. Salesforce expects the transaction to close during its fiscal 2028.
Mark Murphy, Salesforce’s EVP of Global Investor Relations, said the companies will remain independent and continue operating separately until the deal closes. Salesforce said there is no change to its fiscal 2027 financial guidance as a result of the anticipated timing of the transaction. The company has not provided fiscal 2028 guidance, and its fiscal 2030 framework remains unchanged.
Washington said Salesforce expects the deal to be growth accretive while creating near-term profitability dilution. The company expects post-close efficiencies over time and plans to report Braze’s revenue contribution for one year after the transaction closes.
Focus on Real-Time, Agentic Marketing
Patrick Stokes, Salesforce’s President of Applications and Marketing, said the acquisition is intended to address marketers’ need to engage consumers in real time across channels including apps, the web, email, SMS, WhatsApp and personal agents.
Stokes said Braze’s platform enables marketers to translate ideas into customer communications quickly, particularly in mobile environments. He described Braze as a customer-engagement platform with an event-streaming architecture that turns live customer behavior into personalized messages and coordinated customer journeys.
Braze serves approximately 2,700 customers, according to Salesforce, including Canva, Dairy Queen, Equinox, Instacart, Urban Outfitters and Venmo. Salesforce said Braze powers trillions of messages and journey actions annually and is using its BrazeAI capabilities to optimize content, offers, channels and timing.
Salesforce plans to combine Braze’s real-time engagement and AI decisioning capabilities with its Data 360, Customer 360, Agentforce and Slack platforms. Stokes said the combination is expected to give marketers a fuller view of customers and allow individualized experiences to be optimized in real time at consumer scale.
Braze to Continue Operating Under Its Brand
Bill Magnuson, Braze’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said Braze will continue “building as Braze” following the close of the transaction. Magnuson said he will remain CEO of Braze within Salesforce, while both founders and the broader Braze leadership team are expected to join Salesforce after closing.
Magnuson said Braze and Salesforce share a commitment to an open, composable approach that provides customers flexibility across their data, tools and partners. He said combining Braze’s ability to respond to real-time data and orchestrate adaptive customer journeys with Salesforce’s data tools, trust layer and partner channels could expand the companies’ product capabilities and global customer value proposition.
Washington said the acquisition meets Salesforce’s M&A framework across customer success and strategic fit, acceleration, and value. She added that Salesforce’s global go-to-market organization and distribution capabilities could broaden Braze’s reach internationally and support top-line growth over time.
About Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)
Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.
The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.
-logo-1200x675.png){kind=logo}
