Salesforce.com has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the cloud marketing platform ExactTarget in a deal worth about $2.5bn.
Under the deal, the salesforce.com will begin a tender offer for all shares of ExactTarget for $33.75 per share in cash, wherein the transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
The acquisition will combine ExactTarget’s digital marketing expertise with salesforce.com’s sales, service and social marketing application to help the company create a stronger marketing platform across email, social media, mobile and the web.
Salesforce.com chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff, said: "The addition of ExactTarget makes Salesforce the starting place for every company and puts salesforce.com in the pole position to capture this opportunity."
Following the transaction, salesforce.com’s customers will be able to extend their investments in sales, service and social marketing with access to the marketing automation application.
The move will provide the ExactTarget’s customers with access to new social marketing capabilities, while using the salesforce.com’s sales, service and platform applications to transform their end-to-end customer experience.
The acquisition is expected to close by July 31, 2013, and after completion it is expected to increase Salesforce.com’s total revenue by $120m to $125m.