Salesforce (CRM, Financial) is going all in on data. The company just struck an $8 billion deal to acquire Informatica (INFA, Financial), offering $25 per share in cash — a move aimed squarely at bolstering its AI-fueled data ambitions. The deal is expected to close in early fiscal 2027 and will be funded with a mix of cash and new debt. It's a comeback story, too: Salesforce had previously walked away from Informatica just over a year ago, but renewed talks accelerated recently as the company doubled down on scaling its Data Cloud unit. Informatica, long seen as a takeover target, helps businesses manage complex cloud data — directly competing with Salesforce's own MuleSoft.
Salesforce President and COO Robin Washington didn't mince words: this is a “decisive” move designed to drive AI-driven growth. And it's one of Salesforce's largest acquisitions to date. Informatica stock jumped 5.7% in premarket trading at 9.04am, while Salesforce ticked up 0.68%. The Redwood City-based data player has seen its market cap shrink 13% this year, but still holds weight with big-name backers like Permira (32%) and CPPIB (25%). Both firms are poised to exit after taking Informatica private in 2015, then guiding its 2021 IPO comeback. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts say the deal shows CEO Marc Benioff's clear intent: go deeper into data infrastructure before the AI data arms race gets even hotter.
But not everything is smooth sailing. Informatica and MuleSoft serve similar functions — and that overlap could raise eyebrows in Washington. Regulatory scrutiny is a real possibility, especially as Salesforce continues stitching together its software empire. Execution risk also looms large: integrating two massive data platforms won't be plug-and-play. Still, if Salesforce can pull this off, it could unlock a major advantage in AI-based enterprise solutions. The real question: can Benioff extract meaningful growth from this deal before competition — or regulators — catch up?
