Blockbuster ExactTarget Deal Closes
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe $2.5 billion deal for Indianapolis-based ExactTarget Inc. has closed. Co-founder Scott Dorsey says the acquisition by Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) wrapped up early Friday morning. He says the combined company will highlight ExactTarget's marketing automation and campaign solutions and Salesforce.com's social marketing efforts. Dorsey announced the deal's closing in an e-mail to company clients Friday morning.
ExactTarget is expected to remain based in Indianapolis, even thought it's now owned by the California company.
Dorsey reports directly to Salesforce.com Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff.
The blockbuster deal was announced last month and at that time Dorsey pointed out the companies had been partners for nearly a decade.
Source: Inside INdiana Business, ExactTarget Inc.
July 12, 2013
News Release
SAN FRANCISCO—July 12, 2013—Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the world’s #1 CRM platform (http://www.salesforce.com/), today announced it has completed its acquisition of ExactTarget, a leading cloud marketing platform used by more than 6,000 companies including Coca-Cola, Gap and Nike.
Salesforce.com’s acquisition of ExactTarget furthers its mission of being the world’s leading CRM platform—one that enables companies to transform how they connect with their customers across sales, service and marketing. By combining ExactTarget’s leading digital marketing capabilities with salesforce.com’s leading sales, service and social marketing solutions, salesforce.com will create a world-class marketing platform across email, social, mobile and the web.
The dramatic increase in consumer and business use of social networks, mobile devices and new digital technologies is causing a revolution in marketing, as budgets previously spent on traditional media are now moving to digital campaigns. Gartner estimates that by 2015 consumer technology companies will have switched one-third of their traditional marketing budgets to digital and CMOs will outspend CIOs on information technology by 2017.
The combination of ExactTarget and salesforce.com will increase the value proposition for customers of both companies. Salesforce.com customers will be able to extend their investments in sales, service and social marketing with access to the industry’s most comprehensive marketing automation solution. ExactTarget’s large and vibrant customer base will have access to new world-class social marketing capabilities and will be able to leverage salesforce.com’s leading sales, service and platform solutions to transform their end-to-end customer experience.
Comments on the News
“The CMO is expected to spend more on technology than the CIO by 2017,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “The addition of ExactTarget makes Salesforce the starting place for every company and puts salesforce.com in the pole position to capture this opportunity.”
“By bringing together ExactTarget’s industry-leading marketing automation and campaign management capabilities with salesforce.com’s leading social marketing solutions—listening with Radian 6, publishing with Buddy Media, and advertising with Social.com—we will deliver the marketing platform of choice for CMOs,” said Scott Dorsey, CEO, ExactTarget, a salesforce.com company. “Together, we will enable companies to transform how they connect with their customers across sales, service and marketing.”
According to Gartner, Marketing was the fastest growing CRM category in 2012, growing at 21 percent—more than four times the software industry forecast norm in 2012. Gartner is predicting 21 percent growth through 2017.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud—The Marketing Platform of Choice for CMOs
The acquisition of ExactTarget will accelerate the growth and leadership of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The combination of ExactTarget’s industry-leading marketing automation and campaign management capabilities with salesforce.com’s leading social marketing solutions—listening with Radian6, publishing with Buddy Media, and advertising with Social.com—will deliver the marketing platform of choice for CMOs. Now any company will be able to connect with their customers in entirely new ways across email, social, mobile and the web.
Acquisition to Create the Market and Technology Leader in Marketing
As the global leader in CRM, salesforce.com is number one in sales, service and cloud platforms. And now with the combination of Salesforce and ExactTarget, salesforce.com will become the leader in marketing. The acquisition gives salesforce.com industry leading solutions across every major pillar of CRM, creating a unique customer platform that enables companies to transform how they connect to their customers throughout every part of the customer lifecycle. For ExactTarget, joining salesforce.com will accelerate its growth by providing dramatically increased customer and geographic reach and global operational scale.
ExactTarget—Leading Cloud Marketing Platform for More Than 6,000 Companies
Founded in 2000, ExactTarget is a leading cloud marketing platform. The company’s solutions enable marketers to integrate customer data from any source to power digital marketing campaigns across multiple channels, all while leveraging sophisticated marketing automation capabilities. More than 6,000 companies around the world, including Coca-Cola, Gap and Nike rely on ExactTarget’s solutions to drive customer engagement, increase sales and improve return on marketing investments.
About salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is the world’s largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software. For more information about salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.
Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase salesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CRM.” For more information please visit http://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.Source: Salesforce.com