Salesforce Stock Drops 8% On News Of $15B Tableau Acquisition

Cloud-based firm Salesforce.com Inc. saw its shares plunge as much as 8 percent in early trading Monday after it announced its acquisition of Tableau Software Inc., an interactive data visualization software company.

Salesforce is buying Tableau for $15.7 billion in an all-stock deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies.

The deal will involve shares of Tableau Class A and Class B common stock being exchanged for 1.103 shares of Salesforce common stock, said Salesforce. The $15.7 billion figure represents the enterprise value of the transaction based on the average price of Salesforce’s shares as of June 7.

Wall Street’s negative reaction to the Tableau acquisition was set in motion by projections Salesforce expects the deal to shave-off 37 cents to 39 cents from non-GAAP EPS in its current fiscal year.

Salesforce now sees full-year 2019 revenue of between $16.45 billion and $16.65 billion. In its last fiscal year ending Jan. 31, Salesforce earned $1.43 per share on $13.28 billion in revenue.

Salesforce’s shares ended Monday trading at $152.79, down 5.23% after opening at $153.48. After hours brought the stock to $153.30.

Tableau’s market cap stood at $10.79 billion at the close of trading on June 7. Trading of Tableau’s shares has been suspended because of the Salesforce acquisition.

Analysts said the deal will allow Salesforce to diversify beyond customer relationship management (CRM) software and into deeper layers of analytics of the type provided by Tableau. The deal will also help Salesforce extend its engagement and data intelligence for its current customers.

Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff said the deal will bring together the world’s #1 CRM with the #1 analytics platform.

“Tableau helps people see and understand data, and Salesforce helps people engage and understand customers,” said Benioff.

“It’s truly the best of both worlds for our customers–bringing together two critical platforms that every customer needs to understand their world. I’m thrilled to welcome Adam (Selipsky, Tableau CEO) and his team to Salesforce.”

Selipsky said joining forces with Salesforce will enhance Tableau’s ability to help people everywhere see and understand data.

“As part of the world’s #1 CRM company, Tableau’s intuitive and powerful analytics will enable millions more people to discover actionable insights across their entire organizations. I’m delighted that our companies share very similar cultures and a relentless focus on customer success. I look forward to working together in support of our customers and communities.”

Tableau will continue to operate independently and under its own brand post-acquisition, said Benioff. It will also retain its headquarters at Seattle, Washington.