Latest news with #ProjectInspire
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salesforce patience and ties between CEOs drove Informatica acquisition
(Bloomberg) — Salesforce Inc.'s (CRM) agreement to buy Informatica Inc. (INFA) for $8 billion came a year after initial talks collapsed and the acquisition target lost a third of its market value, lowering the price it was willing to accept for a deal. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Global Struggle to Build Safer Cars At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending The result, according to Salesforce executives and other people close to the negotiations, is evidence of the software giant's more-disciplined approach to dealmaking after working several years to reduce costs and improve profitability. That patience was imposed by major shareholders who helped scuttle a purchase of Informatica in early 2024. 'We were very close to doing this deal a year ago, but the price was not right,' Salesforce Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said in an interview. He then stayed in contact with Informatica Chief Executive Officer Amit Walia until the time was right, Benioff said. Last week, that time came. Salesforce sealed a purchase on May 27 for the data integration software provider at $25 a share — 35% less than Informatica's share price before the initial talks became public in April 2024. It marks serial acquirer Salesforce's return to making big deals after facing years of skepticism from investors about its M&A strategy. 'In conversations with critical investors — they want to make sure that we pay the right price, that it's not dilutive, it only costs one or two quarters of cash flow, that we are disciplined in our approach,' Benioff said. 'For all those reasons a year ago, it could not come together. For all of those reasons it did come together last week.' In early April, Informatica's share price had declined by half from the prior year, meaning an acquisition this time around would likely come at a significant discount to the $10 billion price tag being discussed a year earlier. John Somorjai, longtime corporate development head at Salesforce, and his advisers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), reached out to Informatica's board with an interest in rekindling their courtship. For Informatica, a greater need for data integration services to facilitate AI use had put its offering firmly in the crosshairs of industry players including Cloud Software Group Inc., formerly known as Citrix Systems Inc., as well as buyout firms like Thoma Bravo. Informatica instructed bankers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to kick off a market check that it hoped would validate the value of its data-organization technology in the age of AI. 'Project Inspire' was the code name for the potential deal within Informatica. At Salesforce, insiders gathered to talk about 'Project Sunshine.' As the idea of the combination began to take fuller shape, the name became 'Project Kailash' — a reference to the sacred mountain in the Himalayas that's revered as the home of Hindu god Lord Shiva. The sale process was accelerating at pace by the end of April and remained competitive until roughly 24 hours before Salesforce had a handshake agreement with Informatica, and just prior to a Bloomberg News story that said the two companies were in talks about a deal that could be announced within days, the people familiar said. 'We were lucky to be the winning bid,' Benioff said. Details of Salesforce's pursuit of Informatica were relayed by multiple people involved in the discussions, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing private details. Salesforce declined to comment on some of the details. Informatica didn't respond to a request for comment. Understanding the stakes at play for Salesforce means rewinding back to late 2022. Over the course of a few months, the San Francisco-based company had seen a rare pile-on from a who's-who list of activist investors, including Starboard Value LP, Elliott Management Corp., ValueAct Capital Management LLC and Third Point LLC. They'd come armed with critiques of Salesforce's slowing revenue growth, lack of cost discipline, ballooning headcount, and an M&A record that they said was unfocused and expensive. The prior year, Salesforce had closed its $27.7 billion deal for workplace collaboration firm Slack Technologies Inc. That transaction was its biggest yet — dwarfing its purchases of Tableau Software Inc. and MuleSoft Inc. The company had spent some $50 billion in three years, and patience in Benioff's strategy was wearing thin. Salesforce responded by cutting about 10% of its workforce, setting an aggressive profit goal and adding a ValueAct representative to its board. The message: We hear you. So when word started to get out in April 2024 that Salesforce was in advanced talks to acquire Informatica for about $10 billion, investors were quick to let the company know their thoughts on the proposed deal. Salesforce's stock slid more than 7% in the following trading session, wiping roughly $20 billion in value from its market capitalization. The two companies had already agreed to contracts, a price was all but finalized and a date for the public reveal was just a few days away, according to the people familiar with the process. Salesforce, in a quiet period ahead of reporting earnings for its fiscal first quarter for 2025, was hamstrung: It could say little about the deal's rationale, explain the strategic fit, or defend the rumored $10 billion price tag. Analysts and shareholders might have been more forgiving with a $2 billion tuck-in than a big headline swing. Like Informatica's private equity backers, Permira and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Salesforce was left ruing a near miss. In the interim, away from the spotlight of still unconfirmed deal talks with Salesforce, Informatica was at work to strengthen its profile. But it was going into its fourth quarter earnings period braced for a 4.1% slip in revenue, amid a backdrop that had seen Permira and CPPIB sell a slug of shares worth $408 million. Robin Washington, Salesforce chief operating and financial officer, said the recent deal was as much about getting 'our arms around the valuation' as it was the timing. 'We were patient, we were disciplined, and felt that now was the right time to put the marriage together,' she said in an interview. 'One of the things that we've been really focused on is just good discipline when it comes to M&A.' As with Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG, GOOGL) on-again, off-again pursuit of cybersecurity upstart Wiz Inc., which culminated earlier this year in a $32 billion friendly takeover, timing — and discipline — can be everything in dealmaking. While the rationale and the fit were much the same 12 months ago, the maturity and understanding within the industry about the demand for data to feed AI made the takeover more acceptable this time. 'The world of generative AI cannot come to fruition without the foundation of good data,' Informatica's Walia said in a Bloomberg Television interview. 'They talked to customers, we talked to customers. And to me, it was the right time for us to come together.' —With assistance from Liana Baker. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Is Elon Musk's Political Capital Spent? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FSU PC, Astro America secure $98 million for Project 'inSPIRE' launch
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Project Inspire is starting to take shape. Triumph Gulf Coast granted Florida State University $98 million last year to launch Project InSPIRE. It's a joint effort between FSU, Northwest Florida Beaches International, and a company called Astro America. Plans call for two facilities totaling about 100,000 square feet, and machinery and hardware to equip the facilities. Astro America will build one of the facilities, a 50,000 square foot aeronautical aviation center at Northwest Florida Beaches International. ECP officials announce more daily nonstop flights to NYC Astro America has already signed a lease with a local machine shop called Maritech for office space and is hiring local employees. The work has already started. 'So, we have a small amount of space there. We're already bringing equipment in so that we can start getting employees around the panhandle familiar with that equipment, how to use it and so we're already off the ground running, even though we don't have our building yet, you know, but in the meantime, we're already starting this work,' Community Relationships and Partnership Engagement Director Grey Dodge said. The project will create engineering opportunities for FSU students. There has been no word yet as to when construction on the new facility will begin. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
HDFC Life hits 6-month high, nears record high; analysts see more upside
HDFC Life Insurance Company share price today Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company hit a six-month high at ₹ 741.20, gaining 4 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade owing to a healthy business outlook. The stock price of the life insurance company was trading at its highest level since October 30, 2024. It quoted close to its record high level of ₹ 775.65 hit on September 2, 2021. The stock had hit a 52-week high of ₹ 760.95 on September 3, 2024. HDFC Life Q4FY25 results For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 (Q4FY25), HDFC Life reported a 16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in its standalone net profit at ₹ 475 crore as compared to ₹ 412 crore a year ago. Its net premium income increased by 16 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹ 23,766 crore in Q4FY25. And, annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) rose by 9.7 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹ 5,186 crore. The management said they are happy to report an 18 per cent growth in Individual APE for FY25, in line with their stated growth aspirations for the year. Overall industry market share expanded by 70 bps to 11.1 per cent and by 30 bps to 15.7 per cent within the private sector. Retail protection continued to show strong momentum with APE growth of 25 per cent. All channels registered double-digit growth. 'Our aspiration remains, against a backdrop of a stable regulatory regime, to consistently outpace sector topline growth, deliver value of new business (VNB) growth in line with APE growth and double key metrics every 4 to 4.5 years,' the management said. Brokerage firm's see more upside in stock price of HDFC Life FY26 product mix is expected to accrete margins over FY25 levels, with demand for ULIPs cooling off, falling deposit rates likely to push guaranteed products and expected revival of credit life (major portion of the insurer's group protection pie) in 2H26. However, management expects margins to remain range-bound in FY26 as the company invests in technology (Project Inspire) and growth, adding another 100 branches, over ~200 added in last two years. While H1FY26 APE growth is likely to moderate on a strong base of H1FY25, analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities expect VNB growth to pick up hereon. The brokerage firm reiterates 'buy' rating on HDFC Life with target price of ₹ 850 per share. While the current market price implies a ~12 per cent VNB compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next decade, analysts at Elara Capital believe HDFC Life can deliver faster growth, driven by higher APE growth. This optimism is underpinned by continued investments in expanding proprietary channels, particularly through agency and branch expansion, which are strengthening the franchise. The brokerage firm believes HDFC Life can deliver higher VNB growth than what is implied in the current valuation on the back of higher APE growth than the industry at 14-16 per cent (management guided for 16-17 per cent APE CAGR). VNB growth will largely be led by APE growth in the medium term as VNB margins are likely to remain range-bound in the medium term as the company is reinvesting into strengthening its distribution. The brokerage firm upgraded HDFC Life to 'Buy' from 'Accumulate' with a target price of ₹ 870 per share. Key risks are adverse regulations on products or distribution, slower than anticipated growth in non-par products and slowdown in the protection segment. About HDFC Life HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited is an Indian life insurance provider which offers a diverse range of insurance products, including term life, unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), endowment policies, and retirement solutions. The company has over 70 products (individual and group products) including optional riders in its portfolio, catering to a diverse range of customer needs.
