Salesforce to Buy Braze for $5.66 Billion, Paying $47.50 a Share in Cash
The all-cash deal adds Braze's app, email, SMS and WhatsApp messaging engine to Marketing Cloud and Agentforce, as Salesforce races to turn customer data into AI-run campaigns.
Why it mattersIt consolidates two of the biggest customer-engagement platforms that brands use to run CRM campaigns, which will change pricing, contracts and vendor choices for marketing teams.
Salesforce has agreed to buy customer engagement company Braze for an enterprise value of about $5.66 billion, the two companies announced on 20 October 2026. Braze shareholders will get $47.50 in cash for each Class A share.
The price is a 58% premium to Braze's closing price of $30.04 on 19 October, BestMediaInfo reported. Braze stock rose more than 50% after the announcement, trading a little over $2 below the offer price, according to Fast Company.
What Salesforce is buying
New York-based Braze, founded in 2011, runs personalised messages and customer journeys across mobile apps, websites, email, SMS and WhatsApp, using real-time event data. It says it has about 2,770 customers, including Canva, Instacart, Venmo, Dairy Queen, Equinox and Urban Outfitters.
Salesforce plans to plug Braze into its Marketing Cloud, Data 360 and Agentforce products, so that customer data, AI agents and message delivery sit in one system. Braze will keep its brand, and co-founders Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman are set to lead it inside Salesforce.
"Salesforce's platform will help us innovate faster," Magnuson, Braze's CEO, said in the release.
Terms and timing
- Price: $47.50 a share in cash; enterprise value about $5.66 billion.
- Approvals: Braze shareholders and regulators.
- Closing: expected in Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, which runs from February 2027 to January 2028.
- Guidance: Salesforce said the deal does not change its fiscal 2027 outlook.
- Advisers: J.P. Morgan for Salesforce; Qatalyst Partners for Braze.
Why it matters
This is Salesforce's second large data-and-marketing purchase in a year, after it completed its roughly $8 billion takeover of Informatica in November 2025. It comes as investors question whether AI tools will erode traditional software-as-a-service businesses, a fear Fast Company notes has weighed on the sector.
For brands, the deal folds a widely used independent engagement platform into the biggest CRM vendor. Braze shares traded near $100 soon after its 2021 listing; even at the offer price, Salesforce is paying about half that peak. It is the second big marketing-data deal in days, after US regulators cleared Publicis' $2.2 billion purchase of LiveRamp with five years of neutrality rules.
Questions readers ask
How much is Salesforce paying for Braze?
About $5.66 billion in enterprise value, or $47.50 in cash for each Braze Class A share.
What does Braze do?
Braze runs personalised marketing messages and customer journeys across apps, websites, email, SMS and WhatsApp. It has about 2,770 customers, including Canva and Instacart.
When will the Salesforce–Braze deal close?
Salesforce expects it to close in its fiscal year 2028, which runs from February 2027 to January 2028, after shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Will Braze keep its name?
Yes. The companies say Braze will continue under its own brand, led by co-founders Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman.
Sources
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