Salesforce.com to buy big data firm Tableau for $15.3 billion

To consolidate its data insights offering, Salesforce.com bought big data firm Tableau Software for $15.3 billion. Seattle-based Tableau has more than 86,000 customers, including tech heavyweights such as Verizon Communications and Netflix.

As part of the all-stock deal, Tableau shareholders will get 1.103 Salesforce shares, valuing the offer at $177.88 per share. 

“The acquisition accelerates Salesforce’s roadmap for their customer 360 initiative, which helps companies gain a complete view of their customers, and more broadly their analytics initiative,” Wedbush Securities analyst Steve Koenig said. 

The deal is likely to close in the third quarter, after which Tableau will operate independently, led by Chief Executive Officer Adam Selipsky and its current leadership team.

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