DOJ Drops Probe Into $27.7B Salesforce/Slack Merger

Slack shares edged higher in active trading Monday, July 19, after an antitrust probe into its US$27.7 billion takeover by Salesforce was dropped by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ’s Antitrust Division opened a “second request” review into the deal earlier this year as the new administration of President Joe Biden vowed to take a closer look at big tech mergers. Slack stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it expects the deal to close on July 21.

Last month, Slack announced that its fiscal first quarter revenues rose 36% from last year to US$273.4 million, with billings rising 35% to US$278.5 million. Paid customer growth, the company stated, was up 39% to 169,000.

Salesforce, which published quarterly earnings on May 27, boosted its full-year outlook to an adjusted profit between US$3.79 and US$3.81 per share and forecast revenues in the range of US$25.90 billion and US$26.00 billion.

“Considering the deal price and the presence of a robust competitor in the collaboration market in the form of Microsoft, we expect investors to be keyed in on the early success Salesforce has in driving Slack penetration within its existing customer accounts,” said Stifel analyst Tom Roderick who carries a “buy” rating with a US$295 price target for Salesforce stock.

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