Salesforce buying Slack in $27.7B deal in work from home bet

The deal is billed as the 'new way to work'

After much speculation, Salesforce made it official on Tuesday, announcing plans to buy Slack for $27.7 billion in a deal that was partly fueled by the pandemic and a shift to working from home.

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“This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. I’m thrilled to welcome Slack to the Salesforce Ohana once the transaction closes" said Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce.

CLOUD WARS HEATING UP

The deal, according to the companies, signals working remotely is here to stay.

"The events of this year have greatly accelerated the move by companies and governments to an all-digital world, where work happens wherever people are -- whether they’re in the office, at home or somewhere in between," the companies said in a joint statement.

ANOTHER STIMULUS BILL GETS REVIVED

SLACK SHARES CLIMBED AHEAD OF DEAL

The workplace communications company, which has seen its stock advance since the news broke a deal was in the works, has seen its popularity rise with the work-from-home trend. For the year, the stock has advanced 95%.

“Salesforce started the cloud revolution, and two decades later, we are still tapping into all the possibilities it offers to transform the way we work. The opportunity we see together is massive,” said Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder in the press release.

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Microsoft, which has a competing product called Teams, will now go up against the combo.

The deal, which needs shareholder approval, is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal 2Q.

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