Salesforce to buy Braze for $5.66 billion, its second deal in eight days

Salesforce has agreed to buy Braze, a New York company whose software lets brands send messages to shoppers the moment they act, for $47.50 a share in cash. The companies put the deal's enterprise value at about $5.66 billion.

The price is a 58% premium to Braze's closing price of $30.04 on Monday, Oct. 19. Braze shares were halted before the announcement on Tuesday, then closed at $45.57, up about 52% but still below the offer.

It is Salesforce's second acquisition announcement in eight days. On Oct. 12, the company agreed to buy Loops, an AI analytics startup that it plans to fold into Tableau. Salesforce did not disclose the Loops price.

What was announced

Braze will become a wholly owned unit of Salesforce if the deal closes, according to Braze's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its board approved the agreement unanimously.

The companies expect the deal to close in Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, which begins Feb. 1, 2027. Braze shareholders holding a majority of its outstanding shares must vote in favor. The deal also needs U.S. antitrust clearance and other antitrust and foreign investment approvals, the filing says.

Co-founders Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman, along with family trusts and one other investor, have signed agreements to vote their shares for the deal. By Sayer's count from the filing, those holders own roughly 5% of Braze's outstanding stock.

If the deal collapses over regulatory problems or runs past its deadline, Salesforce would owe Braze a $300 million breakup fee in certain cases. Braze would owe Salesforce about $191 million if, for example, it walked away for a better offer.

Salesforce said the deal does not change its guidance for the current fiscal year. The company plans to pay in cash and does not expect to need debt financing, according to reports from its investor call.

What brands and shoppers get

Braze sells marketing software for consumer brands. Its system watches what people do in an app or on a website and responds in real time with a push notification, an in-app message, an email, a text or a WhatsApp message. Braze said it had 2,789 customers as of July 31, while the deal announcement put the figure at about 2,770. Named customers include Canva, Dairy Queen, Equinox, Instacart, Urban Outfitters and Venmo.

Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jon Hyman wrote on LinkedIn that Braze's customers reach 9 billion monthly active users and that the platform sent about 4.5 trillion messages and other actions last year.

Salesforce says it will combine Braze with Marketing Cloud, its Data 360 customer data product and Agentforce, its AI agent platform. "Most of that wow comes from knowing your customer, and responding at just the right moment," said Patrick Stokes, Salesforce's president of applications and marketing. "Braze was built to turn live customer behavior into personalized engagement at scale."

For brands already on Braze, the companies are promising continuity. "Salesforce shares our commitment to marketers, and we'll continue building as Braze and investing in the Braze community of customers and partners who built this company with us," said Magnuson, Braze's CEO and co-founder. He said on LinkedIn that he will remain CEO of Braze.

For consumers, the practical effect is likely more of the same, delivered faster. The pitch is that a store or app will know what you just did and react within moments, whether that is a reminder about an abandoned cart or an offer tied to your last purchase.

Is Wall Street buying it

Braze has been growing quickly. It reported revenue of $227.2 million for the quarter ended July 31, up 26% from a year earlier, though it still posted a quarterly operating loss of $18.1 million under standard accounting rules.

Salesforce investors reacted with caution at first. The stock fell about 3% before the opening bell but recovered to close essentially flat at $242.43.

Analysts were split on the price and the pace. Evercore ISI said the "deal logic makes sense" but that timing and price are "likely to be a bit of a debate," according to a summary of its note. It added that the pace of Salesforce's acquisitions is "likely to raise eyebrows" among value-focused investors. Morgan Stanley estimated the deal would trim Salesforce's adjusted earnings per share by about 1% in fiscal 2028 and 2029 before cost savings, according to a summary of its research.

The bigger question is whether buying growth can prove Salesforce's AI strategy is working. Each deal adds products to sell alongside Agentforce, but it also makes it harder for investors to see how fast the core business is growing on its own.