Salesforce finds Krux in $700m acquisition

Enterprise software provider Salesforce.com agreed yesterday to acquire Krux, a US-based data management developer backed by investors including media group Time Warner, for about $700m.

The Wall Street Journal reported the price would be “about $700m” divided equally between cash and stock, and TechCrunch cited a securities filing stating Salesforce would pay $340m in cash, plus stock. AdExchanger reported the price would be between $650m and $750m.

Krux produces cloud-based data management software for marketing and media companies. Post-acquisition, it will help Salesforce Marketing Cloud build its audience segmentation and targeting ability.

The company had raised $50m since it was founded in 2010, it said at the time of a $35m series B round in June 2014 that included Time Warner’s corporate venturing unit, Time Warner Investments, and IDG Ventures, an affiliate of media firm International Data Group.

The round was led by Sapphire Ventures, the venture capital firm then known as SAP Ventures, and also featured Visionnaire Ventures, Temasek, Accel and The Entrepreneurs Fund.

IDG Ventures and Accel had previously co-led an $11m round in 2011, and The Entrepreneurs Fund also participated in the 2014 round as an existing investor.

Krux co-founder and CEO Tom Chavez said in a statement: “Becoming part of Salesforce is great news for our current and future clients, our partner network and our employees.

“Being part of Salesforce gives us the opportunity to pursue our mission of driving more relevant and valuable consumer experiences by putting people data to work, with greater reach and impact than ever before.

“We will continue to deliver world-class enterprise data infrastructure and breakthrough business results for our clients. We will now be able to do so faster by leveraging the global reach and resources of Salesforce.”