Activist investor Elliott sets its sights on Salesforce

Activist investor Elliott sets its sights on Salesforce

Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff. Photo: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Activist investor Elliott Management has built a multi-billion dollar position in cloud software giant Salesforce, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Axios with a source close to the situation.

Why it matters: Elliott typically wants substantial change at the companies it targets, and it almost always gets what it wants.

The big picture: Salesforce is the world's largest software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, but has seen its stock price sink by around 50% since its November 2021 high-water mark.

What they're saying: Elliott had yet to publicize details of its intentions, but managing partner Jesse Cohn did provide the following statement:

Thought bubble: There are just a few companies large enough to even attempt a takeover of Salesforce, and they'd all face severe antitrust scrutiny. But that doesn't mean they won't try, now that Elliott is in the picture.

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