Salesforce agrees to buy Braze for $5.66 billion; close not expected until fiscal 2028
Braze’s CEO says the company will “continue building as Braze.” Neither company has said what changes for Braze’s roughly 2,770 customers.
News report. Claims are attributed to the sources listed at the end of this post.
Salesforce has agreed to buy Braze for about $5.66 billion in enterprise value, the companies announced on October 20. Braze holders will get $47.50 in cash for each Class A share, and Braze stock jumped 51% on the news, CNBC reported. The deal isn’t expected to close until Salesforce’s fiscal year 2028.
It still needs approval from Braze shareholders and regulators. Salesforce plans to pay cash and says the deal doesn’t change its guidance for fiscal 2027.
What Salesforce is buying
Braze sells customer engagement software that reacts to what customers do in real time and coordinates messages across mobile apps, websites, email, SMS, and WhatsApp. It has about 2,770 customers, including Canva, Instacart, and Venmo.
Salesforce says Braze “is expected to strengthen Marketing Cloud’s cross-channel personalization.” Its investor slides describe the fit as “real-time, personalized mobile engagement” for “high-volume B2C brands,” and expect the deal to add to growth while diluting profitability in the near term.
“Bringing that capability together with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, CRM, and Data 360 will deliver that wow moment in every customer interaction,” said Patrick Stokes, Salesforce’s president of applications and marketing. Braze CEO and co-founder Bill Magnuson said the company would “continue building as Braze and investing in the Braze community of customers and partners who built this company with us.”
Why it matters if you run marketing or RevOps
If Braze is in your stack, it stays an independent vendor until the deal closes, and nothing announced so far changes your contract. Any renewal you sign before then is with a company that’s about to change owners.
If you’re choosing between Braze and Marketing Cloud, both will soon be sold by the same company. Salesforce’s pitch is that they work together. It hasn’t said how it will price them together.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether pricing or contract terms will change for existing Braze customers. Neither announcement mentions pricing.
- Whether Braze will stay a separate product or be folded into Marketing Cloud. The release says Braze will “strengthen” Marketing Cloud and gives no packaging details.
- What happens to Braze’s integrations with tools that compete with Salesforce.
- Which regulators will review the deal, and how long that will take.
If you run Braze today, are you changing anything before your next renewal? Tell us in the responses.
Sources
- Salesforce and Braze joint press release (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Salesforce investor webinar presentation (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2)
- CNBC: “Salesforce announces $5.66 billion deal for Braze, sending BRZE stock soaring 51%”
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