Microsoft Is Said to Evaluate Possible Bid for Salesforce.com
2015-05-05 18:57:03.372 GMT
By Alex Sherman, Dina Bass and Matthew Campbell
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. is evaluating a bid for
Salesforce.com Inc., after the cloud software provider was
approached by another would-be buyer, people with knowledge of
the matter said.
Salesforce, which has a market value of $47 billion, is
working with two investment banks to determine a response to
approaches, two of the people said. The San Francisco-based
company’s options could include rebuffing any buyer, or working
out a sale, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg
last week.
Microsoft isn’t in talks with Salesforce, and no deal is
imminent, the people said. Still, Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft has long expected it might compete for Salesforce if
it was for sale, one of the people said. Another company was in
talks with Salesforce as recently as April, spurring Microsoft’s
actions, two people said.
For any buyer, Salesforce offers a leading position in
customer relationship management, or CRM, software, as well as
cloud computing -- the delivery of business software and
services via the Internet.
Microsoft and Salesforce reached an agreement last year to
make the companies’ software work better together. Microsoft,
which sells its own customer-management software, lags behind
Salesforce. Last week Microsoft set a goal of reaching a $20
billion revenue run rate for its commercial cloud business by
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.
Tony Imperati, a spokesman for Microsoft, and Chi Hea Cho,
a spokeswoman for Salesforce, declined to comment.
Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz said last
week an acquisition of Salesforce would create disruption in the
software market. She declined to comment on whether Oracle was
interested in buying Salesforce.
Salesforce was involved in strategic-alliance discussions
with SAP SE last year, people with knowledge of the matter said
last week. SAP said it’s not considering a bid for Salesforce.
For Related News and Information:
SAP, Oracle Lead Contenders in Would-Be Salesforce Pursuit
Salesforce Seen as Attractive, If Pricey, Target for Cloud Push
Top Deal Stories:DTOP<GO>
--With assistance from Beth Jinks and Jack Clark in San
Francisco.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Alex Sherman in New York at +1-212-617-8278 or
asherman6@bloomberg.net;
Dina Bass in Seattle at +1-206-262-4143 or
dbass2@bloomberg.net;
Matthew Campbell in London at +44-20-3525-8684 or
mcampbell39@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mohammed Hadi at +1-212-617-2914 or
mhadi1@bloomberg.net;
Jillian Ward at +1-415-617-7261 or
jward56@bloomberg.net
Elizabeth Wollman
2015-05-05 18:57:03.372 GMT
By Alex Sherman, Dina Bass and Matthew Campbell
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. is evaluating a bid for
Salesforce.com Inc., after the cloud software provider was
approached by another would-be buyer, people with knowledge of
the matter said.
Salesforce, which has a market value of $47 billion, is
working with two investment banks to determine a response to
approaches, two of the people said. The San Francisco-based
company’s options could include rebuffing any buyer, or working
out a sale, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg
last week.
Microsoft isn’t in talks with Salesforce, and no deal is
imminent, the people said. Still, Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft has long expected it might compete for Salesforce if
it was for sale, one of the people said. Another company was in
talks with Salesforce as recently as April, spurring Microsoft’s
actions, two people said.
For any buyer, Salesforce offers a leading position in
customer relationship management, or CRM, software, as well as
cloud computing -- the delivery of business software and
services via the Internet.
Microsoft and Salesforce reached an agreement last year to
make the companies’ software work better together. Microsoft,
which sells its own customer-management software, lags behind
Salesforce. Last week Microsoft set a goal of reaching a $20
billion revenue run rate for its commercial cloud business by
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.
Tony Imperati, a spokesman for Microsoft, and Chi Hea Cho,
a spokeswoman for Salesforce, declined to comment.
Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz said last
week an acquisition of Salesforce would create disruption in the
software market. She declined to comment on whether Oracle was
interested in buying Salesforce.
Salesforce was involved in strategic-alliance discussions
with SAP SE last year, people with knowledge of the matter said
last week. SAP said it’s not considering a bid for Salesforce.
For Related News and Information:
SAP, Oracle Lead Contenders in Would-Be Salesforce Pursuit
Salesforce Seen as Attractive, If Pricey, Target for Cloud Push
Top Deal Stories:DTOP<GO>
--With assistance from Beth Jinks and Jack Clark in San
Francisco.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Alex Sherman in New York at +1-212-617-8278 or
asherman6@bloomberg.net;
Dina Bass in Seattle at +1-206-262-4143 or
dbass2@bloomberg.net;
Matthew Campbell in London at +44-20-3525-8684 or
mcampbell39@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mohammed Hadi at +1-212-617-2914 or
mhadi1@bloomberg.net;
Jillian Ward at +1-415-617-7261 or
jward56@bloomberg.net
Elizabeth Wollman