Salesforce drops on reports of likely Informatica deal

Informatica

15/04/2024 10:35

** Salesforce  CRM.N  drops 3.2% to $285.03 premarket on
reports it is in talks to buy $11.35 bln-valued Informatica
    ** Informatica  INFA.N  down 1.1% premarket at $38.05
    ** Discussed price likely below INFA's Fri close of $38.48,
WSJ reports; deal could be announced soon, Reuters reports
    ** Analysts avg rating on INFA is 'buy' and median PT is
$39.50 - LSEG data
    ** "Purchase would likely come at considerable cost to
Salesforce," incl using up cash or taking on debt or both, says
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor
    ** Adds Salesforce "will likely face criticism from activist
investors for relying too heavily on inorganic growth"
    ** Deal would be Salesforce's biggest since buying workplace
messaging app Slack for nearly $28 bln in 2020
    ** INFA has surged 35.5% YTD; CRM up ~12% vs S&P 500's
 .SPX  7.4% advance

 (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru)
 ((Ankia.Biswas@thomsonreuters.com))