Salesforce plans to acquire data-management firm Informatica for about US$8 billion, aiming to strengthen its position in the rapidly growing AI market, according to the Wall Street Journal on May 27.

The deal is expected to be announced later, with Salesforce set to pay US$25 per share for Informatica.

Following the report, Informatica’s shares rose 7% to US$24.10 in premarket trading. Meanwhile, Salesforce shares increased by 1.6%.

Neither Salesforce nor Informatica has responded to requests for comment.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The private equity cycle reveals Informatica’s shifting valuation story

Informatica’s journey illustrates the private equity “flipping” phenomenon in the tech industry, with valuation changes over time.

Originally acquired in 2015 by Permira and Canada Pension Plan for US$5.23 billion, Informatica went public again in 2021 at a valuation of US$8.12 billion, representing a 55.3% return for those investors1.

Since its IPO, Informatica’s valuation has remained relatively flat, with the current Salesforce offer at about US$8 billion, indicating limited value growth despite the company’s transition to a subscription-based cloud model1.

The stagnant valuation reflects Informatica’s slower growth compared to newer data management competitors, with post-acquisition revenue CAGR of just 3.36% between 2015-20211.

This deal represents the full cycle of private equity investment: acquisition, business model transformation, public listing, and ultimately corporate acquisition—a pattern increasingly common in enterprise software.

2️⃣ Salesforce strengthens its data integration capabilities amid increasing system complexity

Salesforce’s interest in Informatica directly addresses a critical business challenge: the average enterprise now operates with over 928 disparate systems, creating significant data integration complexities2.

Informatica’s AI-powered platform specializes in data management across multi-cloud and hybrid environments, offering solutions for data integration, quality, and governance that would complement Salesforce’s existing offerings3.

The acquisition would significantly enhance Salesforce’s Data Cloud platform, which has been the fastest-growing product in the company’s history and focuses on simplifying data harmonization across systems2.