Salesforce on Tuesday said it has agreed to buy data-management software maker Informatica in an all-cash deal valued at $8 billion. Salesforce stock climbed amid analyst views that the deal could boost the software maker's artificial intelligence strategy.
Salesforce agreed to buy Informatica for $25 per share, a much lower per-share price than speculated in April 2024 when reports said the companies were in negotiations. Further, Salesforce expects to close the deal in early next fiscal year that starts February through a mix of cash and new debt.
On the stock market today, Informatica stock rose more than 5% to 23.83 premarket. Informatica stock popped more than 17% on Friday after Bloomberg reported Salesforce had renewed negotiations with the software maker. Salesforce stock climbed 1.5% on Tuesday to 277.31.
Informatica revenue is expected to grow 3% in 2025.
"The deal to acquire Informatica is not about Salesforce buying growth," said William Blair analyst Arjun Bhatia in a report, "but is all about advancing Salesforce's data and AI capabilities."
In April 2024, Salesforce reportedly was weighing an offer in the mid-$30s per share for Informatica. Further, Informatica stock hit a high near 40 on April 12, 2024.
Informatica To Be Integrated In AI Platform
Amid the rise of "generative" AI, companies aim to use proprietary company data to build and train AI models. Informatica's data management software helps companies collect data from different sources and classify and cleanse that data.
"We think the deal is a smart play to bolster Salesforce's Agentforce capabilities around the area of the software stack it needs to advance most to unlock Agentic AI-governed access to cross-enterprise data," said TD Cowen analyst Derrick Wood.
Also, Salesforce already offers Informatica products to its customers through a marketing partnership.
"Salesforce commented on the deal noting that the acquisition is intended to enhance the Salesforce data foundation and establish a unified architecture for agentic AI," said Truist Securities analyst Terry Tillman in a report. He added: "Salesforce CEO and Chair Marc Benioff said that the integration of Informatica into the Salesforce platform will create the 'most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry' as the company will be uniting its Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Tableau platforms with Informatica's data management capabilities."
Salesforce Stock: Earnings Due Wednesday
As of Friday's market close, Salesforce stock had retreated 17% in 2025. Informatica stock was down 11%.
Regulators would likely approve a Salesforce-Informatica deal, analysts say.
Meanwhile, Salesforce first quarter earnings are due on Wednesday.
In fiscal 2026, which starts with the current April quarter, some analysts have estimated a 1% revenue lift from artificial intelligence products for Salesforce stock. Overall, Salesforce revenue is projected to grow about 8% in fiscal 2026.
Shift To AI Agents
In late 2024, Salesforce and other software makers began shifting their marketing strategy away from generative AI "copilots" to autonomous, goal-driven AI "agents."
Copilots — basically conversational chatbot interfaces — aim to improve worker productivity but rely on human prompts. Agents execute multistep tasks on behalf of users by solving problems and taking action.
Salesforce introduced Agentforce at its Dreamforce customer conference in September 2024. In December, Salesforce announced an upgraded version, Agentforce 2.0, along with its "Digital Labor Platform."
Salesforce is among IBD's AI stocks to watch.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on X, formerly Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
