Salesforce ($CRM) agreed to acquire customer engagement platform Braze for $5.66bn in enterprise value at ~6x EV/NTM sales, pricing the asset at half its historical acquisition average of 12x. The all-cash transaction represents a 58% purchase premium over Braze's pre-announcement share price, valuing the target at $47.50 per share against $912mn in NTM sales. While the 6x sales multiple sits slightly below Salesforce's prior large software takeouts—including MuleSoft at 16x, Tableau at 11x, and Slack at 26x—it aligns closely with the broader software M&A transaction average of 6.0x recorded since 2023. Management plans to fund the entire purchase without debt financing, utilizing approximately four months of FY27 free cash flow and ~2.5% of enterprise value, while leaving existing FY27 financial guidance unchanged ahead of an anticipated FY28 close. Unlike the prior Informatica acquisition that delivered immediate operating margin, EPS, and cash flow accretion, Braze introduces near-term profitability dilution. Sell-side models project the deal will add ~2% to reported revenue growth and contribute ~20 bps of pro forma topline accretion, assuming Braze delivers 20% topline expansion against consensus expectations of 16% to 17% for FY28 and FY29. However, analysts estimate the transaction will dilute non-GAAP EPS by ~1% in FY28 and FY29, dampening margin expansion where operating margins are modeled to edge up modestly from 34.3% under FY27 guidance to 34.9% in FY28. With management offering no defined timeline for margin accretion, investors face near-term earnings drag in exchange for acquired top-line scale. #Salesforce #Software Report date: 2026-10-20