Salesforce has confirmed its intent to acquire Informatica, a cloud data management and governance company, for approximately $8 billion in cash. Announced on May 27, 2025, the deal is expected to significantly strengthen Salesforce’s data infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio, especially its efforts to scale Agentforce, Salesforce’s flagship AI agent platform.
Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stock will be purchased at $25 per share, representing a premium of roughly 30% over the stock’s May 22 close, before acquisition rumors resurfaced.
The acquisition marks Salesforce’s largest M&A move since the $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack in 2021 and underscores a strategic pivot back to large-scale deals after a period of restraint brought on by shareholder activism.
CEO Marc Benioff emphasized that the acquisition is key to creating “the most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry,” further integrating tools such as Tableau, MuleSoft, and Data Cloud with Informatica’s advanced data orchestration capabilities.
Why It Matters: This acquisition cements Salesforce’s commitment to delivering enterprise-grade AI at scale by expanding its control over the full data lifecycle, from ingestion to governance to activation within AI workflows. Data quality and governance are mission-critical for AI systems to be useful, secure, and trustworthy. With this deal, Salesforce not only addresses those needs but also positions itself to challenge major rivals like Microsoft and Oracle, who have long integrated data management deeply into their platforms.
- Strategic Return to Big-Ticket M&A: After holding back on major deals due to investor pressure for profitability, Salesforce is returning to its dealmaking roots. The Informatica acquisition is its largest since Slack and significantly larger than its $1.9 billion purchase of Own Company in 2024.
- Agentforce Platform Gets a Boost: The integration of Informatica’s data pipeline technology will enhance Agentforce, enabling AI agents to make decisions based on higher-quality, well-governed data. Salesforce claims this will support autonomous operations in customer service, recruiting, and beyond.
- Market Synergy and Expansion: The deal allows Salesforce to offer a more comprehensive enterprise AI suite. The combination of CRM, AI, analytics, and now native data governance tools gives Salesforce a more powerful value proposition in the estimated $150+ billion enterprise data market.
- Financial Engineering and Outlook: The acquisition will be funded through a mix of cash reserves and new debt, with Salesforce projecting improved operating margins beginning in the second year after the deal closes. The transaction is expected to close in early fiscal 2026.
- Background and Deal Timeline: Talks between the two companies initially surfaced in April 2024 but stalled due to valuation disagreements. At the time, Informatica publicly denied being for sale. However, shifting strategic priorities and improved terms brought the companies back to the negotiating table, culminating in this landmark agreement.
Go Deeper -> Salesforce acquires Informatica for $8 billion – Tech Crunch
Salesforce Strikes $8 Billion Deal for Informatica – Wall Street Journal
Salesforce to buy Informatica for $8 billion to bolster AI data tools – Reuters
