Salesforce has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Slack, for approximately $27.7 billion. Upon the close of the transaction, Slack will become an operating unit of Salesforce and will continue to be led by CEO Stewart Butterfield.

Slack will be deeply integrated into every Salesforce Cloud, say the companies. To begin with, Slack will be the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360.

Marc Benioff, chair and CEO, Salesforce: This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.

Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and co-founder: Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2022, subject to approval by the Slack stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The board of directors of both the companies have approved the transaction, Salesforce said in a statement on Tuesday.

Salesforce says it expects to fund the cash portion of the transaction with a combination of new debt and cash on Salesforce’s balance sheet. Salesforce has obtained a commitment from Citigroup, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase Bank for a $10.0 billion senior unsecured 364-day bridge loan facility, subject to customary conditions.

[Image courtesy: Slack]

PS: You may also be interested in reading about Slack’s Q3 FY21 results. Looking for Salesforce’s results? Here goes.