Salesforce Will Acquire ClickSoftware for $1.35 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Salesforce.com Inc. said it will acquire ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. for about $1.35 billion in cash and stock, adding digital tools that help companies manage employees working in the field.

Salesforce, the biggest seller of customer-relationship software, was reported in January to be in talks to buy privately held ClickSoftware. The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending Oct. 31, San Francisco-based Salesforce said Wednesday in a regulatory filing.

The company, which is chasing growth outside its main business, is an active acquirer and often pays inflated prices for its targets -- in June, Salesforce announced a $15 billion purchase of data-visualization software maker Tableau Software Inc. for a 42% premium. Co-Chief Executive Officers Marc Benioff and Keith Block are seeking new markets, including business intelligence and blockchain, to reach an annual revenue goal of $26 billion to $28 billion by fiscal year 2023.

Salesforce said the ClickSoftware acquisition won’t materially change the forecasts it has made for revenue or operating margin, excluding some items.

ClickSoftware, based in Burlington, Massachusetts, sells software for managing mobile and field-service workers for companies like Caterpillar Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG. The firm, founded in 1997, was owned by private equity firm Francisco Partners, which took it private in 2015.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised Francisco Partners.