Salesforce buys Braze for $5.66 billion, sending BRZE shares up 51%

Salesforce Inc., the business software giant, has agreed to acquire Braze Inc., a customer engagement platform, for approximately $5.66 billion in enterprise value. The massive Tuesday deal sent Braze stock jumping more than 51% in premarket trading, according to Benzinga. Under the definitive agreement, Braze Class A shareholders will receive $47.50 per share in cash.

Braze currently serves roughly 2,770 customers, including Canva, Dairy Queen, Equinox, Instacart, Urban Outfitters and Venmo. Its technology analyzes real-time customer behavior across mobile apps, websites, email, SMS and WhatsApp to help marketers adjust campaigns. The company's BrazeAI platform uses artificial intelligence to optimize marketing content and timing.

Bill Magnuson, the CEO and co-founder of Braze, said the larger platform would accelerate innovation while supporting customers. Patrick Stokes, Salesforce's president of applications and marketing, said the acquisition would help businesses respond to customer behavior more effectively at scale. Salesforce plans to combine these new capabilities with Marketing Cloud, Data 360 and Agentforce to automate marketing decisions.

The transaction is expected to close during Salesforce's fiscal 2028, pending shareholder approval and regulatory clearance. Salesforce reported having approximately $8.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30. That is a lot of corporate muscle moving into automated text and email marketing.

Photo: homebucket, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons