4 Reasons Why Salesforce Could Acquire Zuora
It is no secret that salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) is an acquisitive company. While there is much speculation on what companies and services Salesforce might acquire next, there are at least four reasons to believe that Zuora (NYSE: ZUO) should be on the shortlist of targets.
One of the strongest arguments that Salesforce could be interested in acquiring Zuora is that there is already a strong connection between the two companies. Zuora's founder and CEO, Tien Tzuo, was employee No. 11 at Salesforce and spent nine years at the company, eventually rising to the role of Chief Strategy Officer.
When Tien Tzuo was ready to start his own company, Salesforce's CEO Mark Benioff gave Tzuo his blessing. Benioff personally invested in a $6.5 million "A" round of funding for Zuora pre-IPO as a sign of good faith. That investment paid off for Benioff in a big way. Today, Marc Benioff's undisclosed initial investment is worth more than $40 million, making him one of Zuora's top 10 shareholders with 2.7% of the total shares outstanding.
Source Fool.com