A rumored deal between the two tech companies could come as soon as next week. Analysts say it could help Slack fight back against rival Microsoft.
Salesforce is reportedly in “advanced talks” with Slack over a potential acquisition — a deal that would be a good fit for both organizations, according to analysts. The collaboration software vendor has been the subject of numerous acquisition rumors since its remarkable rise to prominence in recent years. Among other reported suitors over the years was Slack’s rival Microsoft — which opted to build its own platform instead — as well as other large tech vendors including Google and Amazon. None of those putative deals came to fruition, and Slack instead completed its direct listing in 2019. Despite continued growth (the company had more than 10 million daily active users, according to 2019 stats) and an increase in use among larger enterprises, Slack has struggled against Microsoft’s collaboration platform, Teams; the latter has benefitted from the sharp increase in video usage during the current pandemic and is packaged as part of Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Initial market reactions to the rumours — reported Wednesday in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, among others — have been positive for Slack. The company’s share price jumped almost 38% yesterday, giving it at valuation of around $20 billion. (Salesforce’s stock value fell over 5%.) Neither Salesforce or Slack could be reached for comment on the reports ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. “If these rumours prove to be true, I think this would be a very positive move for both companies,” said Angela Ashenden, a principal analyst at CCS Insights. At first glance, Salesforce seems like a slightly awkward fit for a suitor, given its core focus on software that supports business-to-customer relationships. “The first question that comes to mind with these reports is why would Salesforce be interested in acquiring Slack, given that — despite its acquisition of Quip four years ago — employee productivity and collaboration is outside its core domain,” said Raul Castanon a senior analyst at 451 Research/S&P Global Market Intelligence.
