Salesforce CEO Urges Extra Scrutiny of Microsoft's Acquisition of LinkedIn--Update
October 26 2016 - 5:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Don Clark
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- Salesforce.com Inc. Chief Executive Marc
Benioff said rival Microsoft Corp.'s $26.2 billion acquisition of
LinkedIn Inc. should face additional scrutiny by regulators because
of its size.
"When you're the largest software company in the world, when
you're Microsoft, you need to be treated differently," Mr. Benioff
said Wednesday at the WSJDLive conference here.
Mr. Benioff, who also discussed topics including his company's
decision not to pursue an acquisition of Twitter Inc., lost a
bidding war for LinkedIn to Microsoft earlier this year. On
Wednesday, he called into question the concentration of data in
Microsoft's hands if the deal passes.
European regulators have focused on how companies are "using
data as a competitive advantage against other companies," he
said.
The European Union is reviewing the deal. It set an initial
deadline of Nov. 22, but that can be extended, especially if the
regulator has concerns about the deal. Microsoft aims to close the
transaction by the end of the year.
Salesforce's deal-making has dominated the company's agenda
recently. Earlier this month, it said it was walking away from a
possible Twitter acquisition. On Wednesday, Mr. Benioff said
Salesforce had a "very exciting vision" for Twitter, but
shareholders strongly opposed it.
The Wall Street Journal reported details last week of an
internal presentation to Salesforce directors that included a
review of 14 possible takeover targets.
The presentation came from thousands of emails from former
Secretary of State Colin Powell, who sits on Salesforce's board,
that were published in September by DCLeaks, a website of
self-described hacktivists that releases documents from government
officials and other prominent people.
Mr. Benioff called the disclosure unprecedented, but said the
company's shareholders weren't displeased. It showed Salesforce had
a "measured, thoughtful process" for evaluating possible
acquisitions, he said.
Despite the leak, Mr. Benioff said he had no plan to give up
using email. "Cybersecurity in our world is unfortunately an
oxymoron," he said.
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 26, 2016 17:04 ET (21:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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