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Elliott Management Takes Big Stake in Salesforce

Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has made a multibillion-dollar investment in Salesforce Inc., CRM 3.06%increase; green up pointing triangle according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the pressures facing the business-software provider.

While details of the campaign couldnt be learned, Elliott, one of the biggest and most prolific activists, often seeks board representation and pushes for companies to make operational improvements and other changes.

Salesforce is one of the pre-eminent software companies in the world, and having followed the company for nearly two decades, we have developed a deep respect for [Co-Chief Executive] Marc Benioffand what he has built, Jesse Cohn, managing partner at Elliott, said.

We look forward to working constructively with Salesforce to realize the value befitting a company of its stature, added Mr. Cohn, who has previously served on the boards of companies including Citrix, eBay Inc. and Twitter.

It has been a turbulent stretch for Salesforce. Earlier this month, the company said it was laying off 10% of its workforce and reducing its office space in certain markets.

Mr. Benioff said many customers are taking a more cautious approachto spending, something more software companies are facing amid fears of an economic slowdown. Mr. Benioff, who also serves as chairman, said Salesforce hired too many people as revenue surged earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, echoing other tech executives as industrywide layoffs intensify.

Salesforce had nearly 80,000 employees globally as of Oct. 31, up from more than 49,000 as of Jan. 31, 2020, according to company filings.

Salesforce reported revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31 of $7.84 billion, up 14% from the prior year. That marked a sharp slowdown from 27% revenue growth in the same quarter a year earlier. The company also declined to issue guidance for its fiscal year 2024.

Salesforces stock, a stellar performer for years, has taken a beating, down by about half from a late-2021 high and giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $150 billion. The shares rose about 2% in early trading Monday on the news.

There has been upheaval, meanwhile, in Salesforces top ranks. Co-CEO Bret Taylor is expected to vacate his position on Jan. 31, ending the companys second experiment in recent years with dual leadership. Mr. Taylor had shared the top role with Mr. Benioff for about a year. (Mr. Benioff is to become sole leader again and continue to serve as the companys chairman.) Mr. Benioff, who co-founded the business in 1999, became frustrated about how Mr. Taylor was spending his time, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Stewart Butterfield, the chief executive and co-founder of Slack Technologies, the workplace-messaging app Salesforce acquired during the pandemic, announced his departure last month.

The company had been an active acquirer in recent years. Last year, Salesforce completed the deal for Slack, for more than $27 billion. Two years prior, it spent around $15 billion for data-analytics platformTableau Software Inc. A year before that, the company shelled out more cash and stock in a $6 billion-plus deal for MuleSoft.

This isnt the first time lately that Salesforce has drawn activist interest. In October, Starboard Value LP revealed it had taken a stake in Salesforce, arguing that the companys mix of growth and profitability is far below that of its peers. Starboard founder Jeff Smiths ambition for change at the company has appeared more modest, with the firm so far stopping short of calling for specific measures.

Elliott is known for taking on tech companies and others and forcing changes that also include sales and executive shake-ups.

Its targets have included PayPal Holdings Inc., AT&T Inc., Dell Technologies Inc. and Twitter. Late last year, it struck an agreementwith Pinterest Inc. to add Marc Steinberg, a senior Elliott portfolio manager, to the social-media companys board.

With more than $55 billion in assets under management as of June, Elliott also has a private-equity arm that sometimes bids on companies that are targets of its activist campaigns.