Salesforce has agreed to acquire data management company Informatica in a transaction worth around $8 billion. This includes the stock value minus existing investments in the Salesforce company. Informatica shareholders receive cash per share.
The purpose of this move is to help Salesforce build a strong foundation for uniquely acting AI tools, often called agent AI. Informatica’s software is known for helping businesses collect, manage and organize large data sets. This is the support needed to improve the work of AI systems in a variety of business applications.
This transaction brings together Salesforce’s cloud platform and tools for organizing and cleaning data, including master data management and data integration. The idea is to make AI capabilities running in Salesforce accessible to organized, secure data.
For businesses using AI in their daily work, having the right data is not enough. They also need to know where that data came from, how it was changed, and whether it is reliable. That is, Informatica’s tools have the following benefits:
- Transparency: Informatica can show how data flows through the system, helping businesses meet their audit and regulatory needs.
- context: By combining Informatica’s metadata with Salesforce’s data model, AI agents better understand how to connect dots in business systems.
- Governance: Features such as data quality control and policy settings help you ensure that your AI system relies on clean and consistent data.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the acquisition supports the company’s goal of building safe and responsible AI in the business. “We look forward to getting Informatica.
Informatica CEO Amit Walia said joining Salesforce will help more businesses make their data better available.
How this can help Salesforce data products?
Informatica’s cloud tools connect directly to Salesforce’s core products.
- Data Cloud:Informatica helps ensure that the data collected is reliable and not only is it collected in one place, but can be used.
- Agent Force: AI agents should be able to make smarter decisions with cleaner data and a better understanding of business context.
- Customer 360: Salesforce CRM tools capture data entry and assist sales and support teams.
- Mulesoft: With Informatica’s data quality and governance tools, data passing through the Mulesoft API should be more reliable.
- Tableau: Tableau users will benefit from more detailed information as the data behind their dashboards is better organized and easier to understand.
Steve Fisher, president and CTO at Salesforce, explained the following values:
Salesforce plans to quickly incorporate Informatica technology into its existing systems once the transaction is closed. This involves integration of data quality, governance and MDM capabilities into Agent Force and the data cloud.
The company also said it will continue to support Informatica’s current strategy for building AI-driven data tools for use in a variety of cloud environments.
Informatica’s acquisition is consistent with Salesforce’s strategy
Salesforce executives described the acquisition as part of their long-term plan.
President and CFO Robin Washington said the company is targeting such transactions when it sees clear fit and solid economic benefits for its customers. “We’re focusing on accelerated execution,” she says, referring to sectors such as government, healthcare and finance.
Informatica Chairman Bruce Chizen said the deal shows how long-term investment strategies will be rewarded. He praised private equitybackers Panilla and CPP investments for their role in guiding the company towards this outcome.
Salesforce also said it plans to invest in Informatica’s partner network and apply its own sales and marketing muscles to further grow Informatica’s cloud business.
Terms and Next Steps
The boards of both companies approved the transaction. Shareholders representing approximately 63% of Informatica’s voting shares are signed and no further votes are required. The agreement is expected to close in the early stages of Salesforce’s 2027 fiscal year due to pending regulatory approvals and other terms.
Salesforce uses a mixture of cash and new liabilities to pay for transactions. The company expects the transaction to be added to non-GAAP revenue, margins and cash flows. There are no plans to change shareholder return plans as a result of the acquisition.
(Pixabay image)
See: Oracle plans to trade $400 billion NVIDIA chips for AI facilities in Texas
Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI & Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California and London. The comprehensive event will be held in collaboration with other major events, including the Intelligent Automation Conference, Blockx, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.
Check out other upcoming Enterprise Technology events and webinars with TechForge here.