Salesforce enters into definitive agreement to acquire Slack

Salesforce and Slack have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire collaboration technology firm 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 $27.7bn based on the closing price of Salesforce’s common stock on November 30, 2020.

The board of directors of each of Salesforce and Slack have approved the transaction and the Slack board recommends that Slack stockholders approve the transaction and adopt the merger agreement.

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.

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Salesforce expects to fund the cash portion of the transaction consideration with a combination of new debt and cash on Salesforce’s balance sheet. Upon the close of the transaction, Slack will become an operating unit of Salesforce and will continue to be led by CEO Stewart Butterfield.

Connecting people and data across systems, apps and devices are some of the biggest challenges companies face in today’s all-digital world. Slack’s open platform integrates with more than 2,400 apps that people use to collaborate and communicate. Together, Salesforce and Slack will create an extensive open ecosystem of apps and workflows for business.

Additionally, Slack will be able to expand its presence in the enterprise as part of Salesforce.