Salesforce just made an $11.3 million equity payout for an acquisition
- Salesforce just issued $11.3 million in equity to an undisclosed entity.
- Analysts familiar with the company said it's likely related to the purchase of Attic Labs, a young data start up that Salesforce acquired on January 8.
- Attic Labs is Salesforce's first acquisition in almost a year.
Salesforce issued $11.3 million in equity to a mysterious recipient, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.
It is not clear exactly who received the stock, though a representative for Salesforce said that the equity was issued "in relation to an acquisition."
Analysts familiar with Salesforce said that it's most likely related to the acquisition of Attic Labs, an early stage startup that Salesforce quietly acquired on January 8. The deal officially closed on Tuesday, but Salesforce has not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition.
The filing was a Form D, which companies use to disclose the sale of securities that are exempt from SEC registration requirements. Salesforce is an $80.5 billion company, so a $11.3 million deal is nearly immaterial for the company.
It's possible that the equity was just one portion of the Attic Labs acquisition and that there was also a cash component.
Salesforce's first acquisition in one year
Attic Labs was a San Francisco-based company founded in 2015. The startup created a decentralized database and collaboration platform for managing large amounts of data. The company had raised $8.1 million in a series A led by Greylock Partners, according to Crunchbase.
It's the only publicly-known acquisition Salesforce has made in 2018. The most recent acquisition before that was in January 2017.
In an announcement on its company website, Attic Labs said that it will integrate with Quip, the productivity application that Salesforce acquired in 2016 for $750 million.
Salesforce will start using Noms - the open source database developed by Attic Labs - to "extend Quip's ability to connect live data sources, making it easier for people to collaborate faster and more effectively," Attic Labs wrote in its announcement.