Cloud-based CRM leader Salesforce announced that it is acquiring Demandware, a provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions. The transaction — which is expected to close in Q2 of Salesforce’s 2017 fiscal year — is worth approximately $2.8 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will make a tender offer for all outstanding Demandware shares for $75 per share in cash.
As a single unit, Salesforce and Demandware may have the technology, large customer base and global reach to become major player retail tech market and create another cloud giant. Salesforce customers will have access to the enterprise cloud commerce platform, and Demandware’s customers will be able to tap Salesforce’s array of sales, service, marketing, analytics and IoT solutions, in an effort to deliver more comprehensive, personalized customer experiences.
Demandware’s customer base includes a number of notable brands such as Lands’ End, L’Oreal and Marks & Spencer. Salesforce also has captured the wallet share of several cutting-edge brands for its ability to create a 360-degree view of customer information, interactions and feedback. The two companies share a number of retail clients.
The new offering, which will be called Salesforce Commerce Cloud, will be “an integral part of Salesforce’s Customer Success Platform,” according to a company press release. In the same announcement, Mark Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce, said that with Demandware, the company “will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce…and create yet another billion dollar cloud.”
“Companies of all sizes are coming to Salesforce to help them with their digital transformation,” said Keith Block, Vice Chairman, President and COO of Salesforce, in a conference call this morning. “That’s why this makes so much sense for our customers.”
Adding Demandware to its product suite will empower Salesforce to help retailers engage with customers in “entirely new ways,” according to Block. He also reaffirmed Benioff’s statement, indicating that the deal will position Salesforce to “lead the multi-billion dollar commerce market” and will be a “huge growth lever for our business as we look to grow to $10 billion, $20 billion and beyond.”
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