Salesforce set for $6.5bn acquisition

Vendor says acquired company will be the basis for its Integration Cloud

Salesforce is set to acquire cloud platform vendor MuleSoft in a $6.5bn (£4.6bn) deal.

MuleSoft, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, provides a platform for building application networks and connecting enterprise apps and services.

Salesforce said the MuleSoft technology will power its new Integration Cloud, which will enable customers to "surface any data, no matter where it resides".

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said: "Every digital transformation starts and ends with the customer.

"Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all the information throughout their enterprise across all public and private clouds and data sources - radically enhancing innovation.

"I am thrilled to welcome MuleSoft to the Salesforce ohana."

In its last financial year Mulesoft reported a revenue of $88.7m, a 60 per cent year-on-year increase. Operating losses were $25.5m, compared with $12.8m in the previous year.

MuleSoft CEO Greg Schott said: "With the full power of Salesforce behind us, we have a tremendous opportunity to realise our vision of the application network even faster and at scale.

"Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will accelerate our customers' digital transformations, enabling them to unlock their data across any application or end-point."

The deal represents a 36 per cent premium on MuleSoft's closing share price on Monday.