Slack Technologies Inc. was a pioneer in developing tools to allow co-workers to collaborate online. When the pandemic sent millions of professionals working remotely, other companies seized the spotlight, leaving Slack a potential acquisition target.
While Slack has moved slowly on video, Zoom Video Communications Inc. and Microsoft Corp. were among those that reaped the rewards as videoconferences replaced in-person meetings across businesses.
Now, business-software provider Salesforce.com Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Slack, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Salesforce’s shares have risen more than 50% since Covid-19 drove companies to remote work and customers adopted more software tools to keep their businesses running, giving the firm financial firepower for takeovers.
Over the summer, Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff said the high valuations of some tech companies made deals unattractive. Slack wasn’t one of them.
Slack’s shares had been up about 10% since late February, before surging more than 37% Wednesday after the Journal’s report. By comparison, Microsoft’s stock has jumped 30%, and Zoom’s has quadrupled since the end of February.
