Highlights:
- Informatica offers one of the most widely used ETL (extract, transform, load) platforms in the industry. Businesses rely on this software to transfer data between different applications.
- Salesforce plans to leverage Informatica’s technology to strengthen its Agentforce platform.
Salesforce announced to buy Informatica Inc. in a deal worth USD eight billion.
The purchase price accounts for Salesforce’s current stake in Informatica, with shareholders of Informatica set to receive USD 25 per share. Salesforce stated that investors representing 63% of Informatica’s voting power have already agreed to support the transaction.
Rumors of the acquisition first surfaced in April, when it was reported that Salesforce had initially proposed a USD ten billion offer for Informatica. Although that proposal was soon put on hold, acquisition talks resumed earlier this year.
Informatica offers one of the most widely used ETL (extract, transform, load) platforms in the industry. Businesses rely on this software to transfer data between different applications. Among its many capabilities, the platform simplifies the task of importing records from third-party systems into Salesforce.
In addition to its core ETL capabilities, Informatica offers a range of complementary features. Its platform enables businesses to identify data quality issues, eliminate redundant file copies, and carry out similar tasks. According to Informatica, more than 5,000 organizations around the world currently use its solutions.
Salesforce plans to leverage Informatica’s technology to strengthen its Agentforce platform. Launched last year, Agentforce features AI agents that can automate tasks like responding to customer support inquiries. The platform also features tools that enable companies to generate their own personalized AI agents.
Salesforce states that Informatica’s ability to access data from external systems will strengthen Agentforce AI agents by allowing them to gather the information required to answer user inquiries. The company also expects additional advantages. Informatica’s platform captures metadata about the data it processes—including its source, how it has been modified, and how it’s used—which can help AI agents interpret information more accurately.
Salesforce also intends to incorporate Informatica’s technology into its Data Cloud. Similar to ETL tools, Data Cloud enables applications to retrieve data from external systems. However, it uses a different approach called “zero copy,” which eliminates the need to duplicate records before sharing them across applications—unlike traditional ETL methods that require copying data as part of the workflow.
Salesforce plans to finance the acquisition through a combination of its current cash reserves and newly raised debt. The transaction is anticipated to close early in the company’s 2027 fiscal year, which begins in February.
“It makes financial sense for Salesforce shareholders as Salesforce trades at circa 50% premium to Informatica at all key metrics, EV/revenues, EV/EBITDA and EV/free-cashflow,” said Martin Balaam, CEO of product information management company Pimberly Software Development Ltd. “With Salesforce’s revenue being 20x that of Informatica you would expect this deal to be accretive to shareholders from the get-go.”
