Salesforce snaps up Quip in further challenge to Microsoft and Google

Deal over cloud-based word processing software maker worth a whopping $582m

Salesforce is buying Quip, a provider of cloud-based word processing software that competes with Microsoft's Word and Google Docs, in an all-stock deal valued at $582m in aggregate value.

The CRM giant disclosed the transaction in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in which it described Quip's technology as a "next-generation productivity platform designed for teams, combining communication and content to enable collaboration within documents or spreadsheets, on phones, tablets, wearables and the desktop".

According to the regulatory filing, the deal's aggregate value is less Salesforce Ventures' prior investment in Quip. The four-year-old, San Francisco-based company is backed by $45m in two rounds of investment capital from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Salesforce Ventures, Benchmark, Greylock and Yuri Milner, according to Crunchbase.

In exchange for all of the outstanding shares of Quip capital stock, the per share trading price will range from $73.81 on the low end to no more than $90.22, the filing said.

When the transaction finalises, Salesforce will issue between 6.5 million and 7.9 million shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of Quip capital stock.

Quip co-founders Bret Taylor, formerly CTO of Facebook, and Kevin Gibbs, an ex-Google engineering and product lead, will reportedly come along in the deal.

The founders wrote in a blog post that Quip's technology will be able to extend Salesforce's platform "in powerful new ways with our next generation productivity capabilities", adding that the possibilities of mixing data, content and communication are "amazing".

They also made particular mention of becoming part of Salesforce's internal culture surrounding its 1-1-1 model of integrated corporate philanthropy and its efforts around equality.

Quip is actively hiring for positions on its engineering, marketing, sales and customer success teams, according to its website.