What happened: Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Mobify
Why it matters: Made-in-B.C. tech will be getting a big boost on one of the world’s largest companies focused on customer relationship management
A Vancouver tech firm best known for its e-commerce platform is up to a little commerce of its own.
Silicon Valley-based CRM giant Salesforce.com Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mobify Research and Development Inc. following a multiyear partnership between the two companies.
“Upon the close of the transaction, we look forward to joining the Salesforce family and partnering with even more Salesforce customers to unlock the freedom and flexibility to differentiate their digital customer experiences,” Mobify CEO Igor Faletski wrote in a September 4 blog post.
Terms of the deal and an expected closing date were not disclosed.
Mobify, headquartered in downtown Vancouver, specializes in optimizing retailers' websites across multiple platforms, including smartphones and tablets.
Brands such as Under Armour Inc. have been using Mobify to help facilitate their own online stores.
The acquisition deal will see Mobify deliver to Salesforce what Faletski described as “a modern storefront solution that will allow brands to customize their commerce experiences faster and more frequently, deliver an enhanced shopping experience across any channel, and further increase conversion and revenue to drive success in the digital-first economy.”
This isn’t Mobify’s first acquisition deal — however, last time it was going in the other direction.
In 2016 Mobify acquired fellow B.C. tech company Pathful in a bid to acquire technology capable of advanced machine learning to study and adapt to users’ behaviour.
Faletski told BIV at the time the deal would help his company provide tailored messages sent to customers on behalf of brands, adding it would reduce the amount of “spammy” messages people receive.
Mobify has long kept tight ties with West Coast organizations, with Vancouver-based Vistara Capital Partners participating in a $15-million financing round for the company in 2017.
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