Salesforce.com (CRM.US) has added another big acquisition this week, buying data protection provider Own for $1.9 billion.
1min read Salesforce.com (CRM.US) announced it will acquire Own, a data protection and management solutions provider, for $1.9 billion, its second major acquisition this week, expected to close in the fourth quarter. Not only is this the largest deal the company has announced since its 2021 acquisition of Slack, it is also a significant strategic move in the data management and protection space. Earlier this week, Salesforce also announced the acquisition of Tenyx, a developer of AI voice agents, though specific terms were not disclosed.Salesforce's data products executive Steve Fisher emphasized the importance of the deal in a statement, saying, "This transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions to protect our customers' most valuable data."Founded in 2015, Own focuses on data protection within software applications and has received support from several prominent investors, including Salesforce Ventures, BlackRock Inc., and Tiger Global. Notably, the company's valuation reached $3.35 billion after a funding round in 2021. The company's name change from OwnBackup to Own in October 2022 was also reflected on its official website.Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's strategy of using acquisitions to drive growth has been criticized by activist investors in recent years. Last year, after implementing a series of strategic changes (including disbanding the M&A committee) and achieving a stock price increase, Salesforce successfully avoided a potential proxy fight with activist investor Elliott Investment Management.Salesforce said the latest acquisition will not impact its previously issued fiscal year financial guidance or its capital return plans. While focusing on improving profitability, the company is also focused on driving sales growth.Notably, the company recently announced a new brand for its AI tools, referring to its digital assistants built on emerging technologies as "agents." Salesforce claims that a tool for organizing and analyzing information across applications (called Data Cloud) is its primary growth engine. The company also showcased the potential of this tool in its earnings report released last week.