In merger and acquisition news, last week Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), a cloud-based CRM provider, agreed to acquire MuleSoft (NYSE: MULE) for $6.5 billion. MuleSoft provides platforms for building application networks that connect enterprise apps, data and devices, both in the cloud and on site. The company has more than 1,200 customers including Coca-Cola, Audi, AT&T, Unilever, Netflix, Intuit, Amtrak and Anheuser Busch.

Salesforce will pay part of the deal in cash from its existing assets and about $3.0 billion in proceeds from loans and the issuance of debt securities. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2019, ending July 31, 2018. BofA Merrill Lynch is advising Salesforce. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is advising MuleSoft on the transaction.

‘Every digital transformation starts and ends with the customer,’ said Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff in a news release. ‘Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all of the information throughout their enterprise across all public and private clouds and data sources-radically enhancing innovation. I am thrilled to welcome MuleSoft to the Salesforce Ohana.’

MuleSoft chairman and CEO Greg Schott also commented on the acquisition.

‘With the full power of Salesforce behind us, we have a tremendous opportunity to realize our vision of the application network even faster and at scale. Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will accelerate our customers’ digital transformations enabling them to unlock their data across any application or endpoint,’ Schott said.

The acquisition will allow the two companies to better serve their customers as they transform their businesses digitally. Specifically, customers will be able to access data from legacy systems, cloud apps and devices to make better decisions and to offer more elevated and satisfying customer experiences. In simpler terms, Techgenix says the data integration made possible by this acquisition allows companies to improve collaboration, modernize applications and make data more valuable.

Using its own Anypoint Platform, MuleSoft will power Salesforce’s new Integration Cloud to offer and improve personalized, customer experiences, benefiting Salesforce. At the same time, the acquisition will allow MuleSoft to accelerate its own growth.

According to Techgenix, this deal represents Salesforce’s largest acquisition to date. The next largest such transaction was the acquisition of ExactTarget at $2.5 billion. Techgenix also reports that the two companies have been tied together since 2013 when Salesforce invested in MuleSoft’s series E funding round. Salesforce also invested in MuleSoft’s series F (March 2014) and series G (May 2015) funding rounds, according to Crunchbase.

Insider Take:

In November 2017, we reported Salesforce’s third quarter results for fiscal year 2018. At that time, the company had record revenue of $2.68 billion, a 25 percent increase compared to the same period the prior year. Salesforce also reported deferred revenue of $4.39 billion, a 26 percent increase, and the company was on pace to hit $20 billion faster than any enterprise software company in history, according to Benioff. Acquisitions like this one will help Salesforce achieve that goal by 2024 by expanding its products and services.