Salesforce to Acquire Own for $1.9 Billion, Boosting Data Protection Capabilities

Salesforce Buys Own for $1.9B To Boost Data Security Portfolio

The deal is expected to close during Salesforce's fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. Salesforce (CRM) is expanding its reach into data security by purchasing startup Own for $1.9 billion in cash. Salesforce President Steve Fisher said the acquisition would add to Salesforce's ability "to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers." The deal comes as Salesforce said "customers are increasingly focused on mitigating data loss due to system failures, human error, and cyberattacks." It noted that the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised awareness of the need to protect and manage access to data. Salesforce's venture capital division, Salesforce Ventures, was an investor in OwnBackup, Own's previous name, taking part in a $240 million offering in August 2021. At the time, OwnBackup announced it was valued at nearly $3.5 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in Salesforce's fiscal 2025 fourth quarter, which begins later this year. The company said the acquisition is not expected to affect its full-year guidance or its capital return program. Salesforce shares were 1.4% lower at $242.66 in early trading Friday. They've lost close to 7% of their value so far this year.

Salesforce To Buy Own For $1.9B In Data Protection Push

Own Co. CEO Sam Gutmann founded Intronis in 2003 and led the company for about seven years as CEO. Barracuda Networks bought Intronis in 2015. Salesforce plans to buy data protection and management vendor Own Co. for about $1.9 billion in cash amid the customer relationship management vendor's big investments in the emerging artificial intelligence market and growing cybersecurity threats. The San Francisco-based CRM vendor expects to close on the Own deal in the fourth quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, according to a statement. The 2024 fiscal year ended Jan. 31. Own-formerly known as OwnBackup and billing itself as the No. 1 cloud data protection platform for Salesforce-has about 7,000 customers today using its platform to archive data, secure it and run analytics, among other use cases. "Data security has never been more critical, and Own's proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers," Steve Fisher, president and general manager of Salesforce's Einstein 1 platform and unified data services, said in the statement. [RELATED: Salesforce's Benioff Says Microsoft AI 'Has Disappointed So Many Customers,' But Vendor Hits Back] CRN has reached out to Salesforce and Own for comment. Fisher continued: "This proposed transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data and navigate the shifting landscape of data security and compliance." Sam Gutmann, CEO of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Own, said in the statement that "we're excited to join forces with Salesforce, a company that shares our commitment to data resilience and security." "Together with Salesforce, we'll deliver even greater value for our customers by driving innovation, securing data, and ensuring compliance in the world's most complex and highly regulated industries," said Gutmann (pictured above), who founded Intronis in 2003 and led the company for about seven years as CEO. Barracuda Networks bought Intronis in 2015. Own has a partner program for system integrators, resellers and other partner business models, including CRN 2024 Solution Provider 500 members SoftwareOne, Ahead and Carahsoft. Salesforce has about 12,000 partners worldwide. The news comes just two days after Salesforce revealed it signed an agreement to buy AI-powered voice agents developer Tenyx. The purchase of that Mountain View, Calif.-based startup-founded in 2022-is set to close in the third quarter of Salesforce's 2025 fiscal year. The Own acquisition should boost Salesforce's Backup, Shield and Data Mask offerings, according to the CRM vendor. Salesforce's venture capital wing has previously invested in Own, which was founded in 2015. In a Thursday report by KeyBanc, the investment firm said that it thinks Own has more than $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with about $20,000 to $30,000 in average revenue per customer (ARPC). "Assuming 25% growth on the top line for Own, this implies a ~7.5x forward revenue multiple, a premium to the average software company at a premium growth rate," according to the report. "We see the acquisition as a continuation of Salesforce's emphasis on Data Cloud and the Einstein 1 Platform as Salesforce's focus has shifted from enabling AI capabilities to making customer data accessible for AI, and now data security/storage is a more relevant part of the story."

Salesforce's acquisition of Own looks to reinforce data cloud platform

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) announced a second proposed acquisition this week when the company revealed it plans to buy Own, a provider of software as a service data protection and activation, for $1.9B. The announcement came just two days after Salesforce said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tenyx, a developer of artificial intelligence voice agents that aid in customer service. "While unlikely to be a pivotal acquisition, we view the deal as a positive step forward in CRM's GenAI positioning, especially given data is the new oil," said Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin, in a note on the Own acquisition. "Core elements of CRM's GenAI strategy, most notably the Data Cloud foundation and ambition to become a trusted data vendor (via the Einstein Trust Layer), should immediately benefit from Own's portfolio (data security, backup, recovery, and discovery), which is already well-integrated into the Salesforce ecosystem," he added. Bank of America analysts Brad Sills and Carly Liu said the Own acquisition provides a key addition for Salesforce. "Data security is a key requirement for enterprises when loading more data into Salesforce's data warehouse (Data Cloud) in preparation for deployment of AI-enabled applications such as Einstein Copilot for sales, service and marketing and cross-channel personalization," Sills said in an investor note. "We believe this acquisition could provide a catalyst for more data gravity to Data Cloud." The acquisition also highlights Salesforce's financially prudent approach to M&A activity, they added. BofA reiterated its Buy rating for Salesforce and a hefty price target of $325 on the stock.

Salesforce Strengthens Data Protection With $1.9B Acquisition Of Own

Salesforce Inc. said on Thursday it agreed to acquire data protection and data management solutions startup Own for $1.9 billion to strengthen data security, privacy, and compliance across its platform. The deal comes at a time when customers are increasingly focused on mitigating data loss due to system failures, human error, and cyberattacks. Own's technology will complement Salesforce's existing offerings, such as Salesforce Backup, Shield, and Data Mask and enables Salesforce to offer a more comprehensive data protection and loss prevention set of products. The Data Platform of Own provides data archiving, seeding, security, and analytics capabilities that help customers ensure the availability, compliance, and security of their software-as-a-service (SaaS) data. Own also helps organizations leverage their historical data to optimize decision-making and gain a competitive advantage. "Data security has never been more critical, and Own's proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers," said Steve Fisher, President and GM, Einstein 1 Platform and Unified Data Services said in a statement. Salesforce expects the acquisition to start adding to its cash flow from the second year following the close of the transaction. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2025. Salesforce's ownership of Own would mean the latter's growth in spheres of data security and privacy products. The payment will be made in cash, Reuters reported. "This proposed transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data and navigate the shifting landscape of data security and compliance," Fisher added. Own is backed by prominent investors like Salesforce Ventures, BlackRock Inc., and Tiger Global. The company changed its name from OwnBackup in October. Own's website highlights its major relationships with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and ServiceNow, two of the industry heavyweights, and its more than $500 million in funding from top investors including BlackRock, Salesforce Ventures, and Tiger Global. A statement from the corporation stated that it was valued at $3.35 billion after a 2021 fundraising round. The acquisition of Own was Salesforce's second acquisition this week. On Tuesday, Salesforce announcied its deal to acquire AI voice agent firm Tenyx, but did not disclose the deal's value. The deal is expected to close by the third quarter, with Tenyx's CEO, Itamar Arel, and CTO, Adam Earle, joining Salesforce and their team. The California-based startup, founded in 2022, boasts a client base spanning leading industries such as e-commerce, healthcare, hospitality, and travel.

Salesforce set to buy cloud data backup specialist Own Company for $1.9B in cash - SiliconANGLE

Salesforce set to buy cloud data backup specialist Own Company for $1.9B in cash Salesforce Inc. said today it will splash $1.9 billion in cash to buy a startup called Own Co., previously known as OwnBackup Ltd., which sells tools for backing up data in cloud-based applications. The deal is expected to close by the end of January 2025, assuming its gets approval from regulators. The amount represents a big discount on the $3.35 billion valuation proclaimed by Own in August 2021, when it closed on its last, and biggest, funding round of $240 million. The deal is notable because it's Salesforce's first big acquisition since it announced it would eliminate a committee tasked with looking at mergers and acquisitions just over two years ago. That decision was taken by Salesforce co-founder and Chief Executive Marc Benioff shortly after activist investors Starboard Value LLP and ValueAct Capital LLC bought stakes in the company and started to apply pressure on it over its slow-growing profitability. In particular, they raised concerns about its decisions to splurge billions of dollars on assets such as Tableau Software, Slack and MuleSoft, without seeing any significant return on those investments. Own's declining value highlights the struggles faced by many cloud software companies in recent years, which are getting less attention from investors than before. The startup was once seen as a hot property, and it closed on a string of increasingly bigger funding rounds in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and two in 2021, with Salesforce Ventures notably participating in every one of those rounds. Its prospects were initially boosted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and the institution of remote work policies around the world, but its fortunes began to diminish towards the end of 2021, when central banks began raising interest rates to ward off inflation. The rising interest rates prompted enterprises to focus more on profitability, which meant many had to reduce spending on technology and consolidate their business operations. As a result, that applied significant pressure on cloud software startups like Own. Many of Own's publicly-traded peers, including Anaplan Inc. Avalara Inc., Coupa Software Inc., Qualtrics Inc., Sumo Logic Inc. and Zendesk Inc., opted to go private, while Own itself sought to diversify its business. Having once been focused purely on Salesforce, it pivoted to bring its software to Microsoft Corp.'s Dynamics enterprise offering, and later added support for ServiceNow Inc. as well. Own's flagship Data Platform provides capabilities around data archiving, seeding, security and analytics, and helps companies to ensure the availability, compliance and security of their most important software-as-a-service data. Its analytics tools also help companies to inform decision-making in order to gain competitive advantages over their rivals. Salesforce said the importance of data for artificial intelligence initiatives means that its customers are increasingly worried about the need to mitigate the risk of system failures, cyberattacks and human errors. By buying Own and integrating its capabilities within its own software stack, Salesforce will be able to offer customers a more comprehensive set of tools for data protection and loss prevention. Salesforce said the acquisition of Own won't have any impact on its shareholder return policies, adding that the deal will be accretive to cash flow beginning in the second year after it closes. While Salesforce has held back on bigger acquisitions recently, it hasn't shied away from smaller acquisitions, announcing deals to buy startups like PredictSpring Inc. and Tenyx Inc. in the last few weeks.

Salesforce Nears Deal to Buy Startup Own for $2 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Salesforce Inc. said it was buying data protection and management solutions provider Own for $1.9 billion, the company's second acquisition this week. The deal "underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data," Steve Fisher, a Salesforce executive focused on data products, said in a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. Own focuses on securing data across software applications. Since incorporating in 2015, it has received funding from Salesforce Ventures, BlackRock Inc. and Tiger Global. It changed its name from OwnBackup last October, according to Own's website. The company was valued at $3.35 billion after a funding round in 2021, according to a statement at the time. The Salesforce transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to the statement. For more: Salesforce Signals the Golden Age of Cushy Tech Jobs Is Over Own is Salesforce's biggest deal announced since buying Slack in 2021. Salesforce held talks to acquire Informatica Inc. this year but didn't reach an agreement. The company said Tuesday that it was acquiring Tenyx, a developer of AI-powered voice agents, without disclosing terms. Salesforce Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff's penchant for growth through acquisitions had come under fire from activist investors in recent years. The company averted a potential proxy fight with activist investor Elliott Investment Management last year after a series of strategic changes, including disbanding its mergers and acquisitions committee, and a rise in the stock price. The deal won't impact Salesforce's previously given fiscal year financial guidance or its capital return program, the company said. After improving profitability, Salesforce is focused on sales growth. It has touted a tool for organizing and analyzing information across apps called Data Cloud as a major growth engine. During earnings last week, it unveiled new branding for the company's AI tools, dubbing the digital assistants built on the emerging technology as "agents."

Salesforce to buy Own Company for $1.9 billion; analysts 'really like' the deal By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Salesforce (NYSE: NYSE:CRM) announced on Thursday that it will acquire Own Company, a provider of data protection and management solutions, for $1.9 billion in cash. Through the deal, Salesforce aims to improve the growth of Salesforce's data security and privacy products. The move comes as customers increasingly focus on minimizing data loss risks stemming from system failures, human error, and cyberattacks. Salesforce expects the deal to contribute to free cash flow starting in the second year after the acquisition closes. "We believe this is a logical acquisition that should enhance CRM's data/AI strategy, and free cash flow (FCF) accretion is expected in the second year after the deal closure," Mizuho analysts said in a note. "While CRM has not commented on the operating margin impact, we do not expect this deal to halt CRM's commitment to OM progression." Overall, the deal shows that Salesforce is exercising "a higher level of discipline" when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Separately, Wolfe Research analysts said the Thursday news of Salesforce acquiring Own Company was "about as positive as an M&A headline for CRM could be." Wolfe views the deal as a strategic move that positions Salesforce to enter the adjacent data protection total addressable market (TAM), which is currently valued at around $150 billion. They estimate that the cloud data segment could represent at least $30 billion of that total. Also, the investment bank believes the acquisition reduces the likelihood of Salesforce pursuing a large, dilutive deal. Since Own Company is built on the Force.com platform, scaling the business should be more seamless, given Salesforce's deep familiarity with the technology. "Own is highly regarded as one of the best platforms for Salesforce data backup, and with already strong AppExchange traction, we believe CRM's GTM engine can help quickly scale Own across the existing customer base and further unlock the large cloud data protection and management TAM," Wolfe analysts noted. "We really like this deal for Salesforce," they added. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.

Salesforce Expands Data Security Portfolio with $1.9B Own Company Acquisition - Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

The deal is expected to close in Q4 FY25, with free cash flow benefits starting in the second year. Salesforce, Inc. CRM disclosed that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company for around $1.9 billion in cash. This amount is net of the value of the 10% of Own's outstanding shares that Salesforce already owns. The transaction is subject to customary purchase price adjustments. Own Company helps organizations ensure the availability, security, and compliance of critical data while enabling deeper insights. The proposed transaction highlights Salesforce's dedication to enhancing data security, privacy, and compliance across its platform. Steve Fisher, President and GM, Einstein 1 Platform and Unified Data Services said, "Data security has never been more critical, and Own's proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers." "This proposed transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data and navigate the shifting landscape of data security and compliance." The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2025, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Sam Gutmann, Own CEO stated, "As digital transformation accelerates, our mission has expanded from preventing data loss in the cloud to helping customers protect their data, unlock business insights, and accelerate AI-driven innovation." Salesforce projects that the transaction will be accretive to free cash flow beginning in the second year after closing and continuing thereafter. Additionally, the deal will not impact Salesforce's capital return program. Dividend: Salesforce announced that its board of directors had declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on October 8, 2024, to stockholders of record as of September 18, 2024. Salesforce does not expect the transaction to affect its FY25 financial guidance, as announced on August 28, 2024. This month, Salesforce finalized an agreement to acquire Tenyx, a company specializing in AI-driven voice agents that enhance customer service with natural, engaging conversations. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. As of July-end, Salesforce's cash and equivalents stood at $12.6 billion. In August, Salesforce reported second-quarter revenue of $9.33 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. The enterprise cloud solutions company reported adjusted earnings of $2.56 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.36 per share, according to Benzinga Pro. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF IGV and REX FANG & Innovation Equity Premium Income ETF FEPI. Price Action: CRM shares closed lower by 0.63% at $246.12 on Thursday. Photo via Shutterstock Read Next: Wall Street On Track For Relief Rally With Nvidia Earnings In Rearview Mirror: Strategist Says Near-Term Market Trajectory May Not Hinge On Presidential Election But This Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Salesforce snaps up Own Company in $1.9bn deal

This is the largest deal for Salesforce since buying Slack and will use Own Company to boost its data security offering. Customer relationship management (CRM) giant Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company, a data protection and data management software provider. Salesforce will acquire the company for $1.9bn in cash, less the value of approximately 10pc of shares that Salesforce currently owns. This is Salesforce's largest acquisition deal since buying Slack in 2020 for more than $27bn. Own Company, sometimes known as OwnBackup was founded in 2015. Its platform is designed to protect SaaS data and it offers automated back-ups and rapid recovery to help prevent the loss of important data. The company also helps organisations leverage their historical data to optimise decision-making and gain a competitive advantage. Salesforce's' Steve Fisher said data security has never been more critical. "Own's proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers," he said. "This proposed transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data and navigate the shifting landscape of data security and compliance." Own Company's CEO Sam Gutmann said Salesforce shares its Own's commitment to data resilience and security. "As digital transformation accelerates, our mission has expanded from preventing data loss in the cloud to helping customers protect their data, unlock business insights, and accelerate AI-driven innovation," he said. Earlier this year, SiliconRepublic.com's CEO Ann O'Dea spoke to Salesforce Ireland's CEO Carolann Lennon for The Leaders' Room about the importance of data security, especially with the growth of AI. "When we talk to customers about it, they are worried about the security of their data, the privacy of their data," she said. "We've been thinking about trust at the start of this journey, and we've been doing it for quite a long time, so I think that is hugely important." Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.