Salesforce buys Braze for $5.66B
Salesforce has agreed to buy Braze, whose software sends marketing messages through apps, websites, email and SMS, for $5.66B in enterprise value. Shareholders get $47.50 a share in cash: 58% above the last close and 27% below the $65 IPO price of 2021. Braze leaves the stock market when the deal closes, expected in 2027.
Braze’s valuation from its first round to Salesforce’s offer
Stock market value monthly from September 2022. The sale is agreed, not closed.
Source: Dealroom.co
Braze started in New York in 2011 as Appboy. It had three founders; two of them, Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman, still run it.
Who founded Braze
Photos and career records from Dealroom people profiles.
PreviouslySoftware engineer at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. Before that, worked at Google.
PreviouslyEngineer at Bridgewater Associates, alongside Magnuson.
SinceFounded the payments company Gynger and the investment firm m]x[v Capital.
Source: Dealroom.co
At 7.7 times revenue, Braze sits in the middle of what Salesforce has paid for software companies.
Revenue multiples on Salesforce’s software acquisitions
Source: Dealroom.co
Of 31 listed software companies bought since 2024, mostly by private equity firms, eight sold for a higher multiple than Braze. Six got a bigger premium over their share price.
Revenue multiples on recent software take-privates
Premium: the offer price above the share price before the deal became public.
Source: Dealroom.co
Revenue growth alone explains little of the spread in these multiples. For the 20 companies bought by private equity firms, the Rule of 40 explains more: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin. Braze scores 28, from 24% growth and a 3% margin. At that score the private equity trend puts about 5.9 times revenue, so Salesforce is paying more than private equity buyers paid for similar companies.
Revenue multiple, growth and cash flow on recent software take-privates
Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin. Rule of X counts growth X times. R²: the share of the spread in multiples that the trend line explains.
Source: Dealroom.co
What this means
Braze’s revenue grew about five times between the last full year before its IPO and the latest one, from $150M to $738M. Over the same years its share price fell from the $65 IPO price, so Salesforce is paying $47.50 a share for a much larger business. At 7.7 times revenue, the price is in the middle of what Salesforce has paid for other software companies.