Salesforce strengthens AI arsenal with $8 billion Informatica acquisition

In yet another major enterprise deal reflecting pan-industry pivots towards agentic AI solutions, Salesforce announced the acquisition of data-management software company Informatica for approximately $8 billion.

Big bet on AI: The acquisition bolsters Salesforce's standing in modern data management as a cornerstone for companies becoming fully AI-ready. Robin Washington, Salesforce's President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer, described the deal in a company announcement as "a key enabler for Salesforce's next phase of AI-driven growth," and emphasized plans to "move quickly to integrate their capabilities."

Agentic assimilation: Salesforce intends to weave Informatica's array of services—spanning data catalog, integration, governance, quality, and master data management—into its existing platforms, forging a cohesive foundation for its AI agents. "Truly autonomous, trustworthy AI agents need the most comprehensive understanding of their data," Steve Fisher, President and Chief Technology Officer, said in the company's statement. "The combination of Informatica's advanced catalog and metadata capabilities with our Agentforce platform delivers exactly this."

Supercharging the traditional CRM: Salesforce's Chair and CEO, Marc Benioff, described the acquisition as "uniting the world’s #1 AI CRM with the #1 AI-powered MDM and ETL platform." He added, "Together, we’ll supercharge Agentforce, Data Cloud, Tableau, MuleSoft, and Customer 360, enabling autonomous agents to act with intelligence, context, and confidence across every enterprise." The transaction marks Salesforce's return to large-scale M&A, following major acquisitions like Slack for nearly $28 billion in 2021, Tableau for nearly $16 billion in 2019, and MuleSoft for $6.5 billion in 2018.

Deal sealed: Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will pay $25 in cash per share for Informatica's Class A and Class B-1 common stock. The company will finance the transaction using available cash and by incurring new debt. The acquisition, approved by the boards of both companies and by Informatica stockholders, representing over 60% of the voting power, is expected to close early in Salesforce's fiscal year 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

The backstory: The definitive agreement follows earlier reports of discussions. Negotiations between the two companies last year did not result in an agreement, reportedly due to differing views on the terms. Founded in 1993, Informatica, underwent a period of private ownership starting in 2015, then re-entered the public markets in 2021. Before Salesforce secured the deal, Informatica had reportedly drawn attention from other suitors, with Thoma Bravo and Cloud Software Group among those named, according to Reuters.