Salesforce has agreed to buy Braze, a company whose software helps brands send personalised messages to customers, for $47.50 a share in cash. The deal, announced on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, values Braze at about $5.66 billion including debt and cash (enterprise value).
The price is a premium of about 58% to Braze's closing price on 19 October, according to Reuters. Braze shares jumped more than 50% on the news, while Salesforce shares fell about 3% in early trading.
The deal at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | $47.50 per Braze Class A share, in cash |
| Enterprise value | About $5.66 billion |
| Premium | About 58% to the 19 October close (Reuters) |
| Expected closing | During Salesforce’s fiscal 2028, subject to Braze shareholder and regulatory approval |
| Break fees | $300 million payable by Salesforce, $191.4 million by Braze, in certain circumstances |
| Advisers | J.P. Morgan for Salesforce; Qatalyst Partners for Braze |
| Salesforce guidance | Fiscal 2027 outlook unchanged |
What Braze does
Braze runs a platform that lets companies send real-time, personalised messages across apps, websites, email, text messages and WhatsApp, using what it calls "BrazeAI" to decide what to send and when. According to Salesforce, it has about 2,770 customers, including Canva, Instacart, Venmo, Dairy Queen and Urban Outfitters. Braze co-founders Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman will join Salesforce.
Why Salesforce wants it
Salesforce says Braze will strengthen its Marketing Cloud and plug into Agentforce, its platform for AI "agents" that carry out tasks, and its Data 360 customer-data layer. "Braze was built to turn live customer behavior into personalized engagement," said Patrick Stokes of Salesforce.
Shay Boloor of Futurum said Salesforce was buying "a real-time engagement layer" that its marketing business had been missing, according to Reuters.
Part of a bigger buying spree
The deal follows Salesforce's $3.6 billion agreement for Fin earlier this year and its $8 billion deal for data-management company Informatica last year. Software companies are under pressure as investors worry that AI tools could reduce demand for traditional business software, and Salesforce is betting that owning more of the data and customer-engagement chain will make its AI agents more useful.
Investors' mixed reaction, with Salesforce shares falling, reflects a familiar question for acquisitive tech companies: whether the price and integration costs will pay off.
What happens next
Braze shareholders must vote on the deal, and regulators must approve it. Bloomberg reported that the deal could close from February 2027. Until then, the two companies will operate separately.
