Salesforce to buy workplace app Slack in $27.7 bn deal

Salesforce.com Inc is buying workplace messaging app Slack Technologies Inc in a $27.7 billion deal, the biggest software deal in a year the Covid-19 pandemic has forced millions of professionals across the globe to work remotely.

The deal will bolster the enterprise portfolio of Salesforce, which now hopes to provide a unified platform for businesses to connect their employees, customers and partners with each other and the apps they use.

For Slack, the deal comes as it struggles to fully capitalise on the switch to remote working during the pandemic in the face of fierce competition from Microsoft Corp’s Teams and other workplace apps.

Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share, or $45.5 per share based on Salesforce’s closing price on Tuesday.