Salesforce.com Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Radian6, the Industry’s Leading Social Media Monitoring Platform

Radian6’s unique technology monitors hundreds of millions of conversations every day across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and online communities, delivering insights in real-time

SAN FRANCISCO – Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Radian6, the industry-leading social media monitoring platform, for approximately $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, net of cash acquired. The transaction is expected to be completed in salesforce.com’s fiscal second quarter ending July 31, 2011, subject to customary closing conditions.

Radian6 is the Market and Technology Leader in Social Media Monitoring and Engagement

Founded in 2006, Radian6 was created with the idea that companies need to monitor the social web in order to effectively join conversations with customers and prospects. Radian6’s unique technology captures hundreds of millions of conversations every day across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs and online communities, and provides actionable insights in real-time.

Radian6’s products include a monitoring platform designed to help companies track and analyze their social media efforts, as well as an engagement platform to help companies connect with individuals and communities online. The intelligence gained from these conversations has become critical in helping companies better market and sell to prospects, service customers and understand what’s being said about their brand, products, competitors and services.

As many companies adopt social media to engage with their customers, Radian6’s customer base is rapidly expanding. Leading global brands like AAA, Dell, GE, Kodak, Molson Coors, Pepsico, and UPS use Radian6, along with more than half of the FORTUNE 100. Radian6 was chosen as a “leader” in independent research firm Forrester Research, Inc.’s “The Forrester Wave™: Listening Platforms, Q3, 2010″ report, released in 2010. In the report, which evaluated the Radian6 Dashboard, as well as Radian6′s Engagement Console, Radian6 ranked above other platforms for functionality and was the only company to receive a 5.00 out of 5.00 score for product strategy and leading scores in market presence in both customers and financials.

Tracking Hundreds of Millions of Conversations across the Social Media Landscape with Radian6
Social media has exploded over the last few years, and the number of users on social networking sites has surpassed the number of people using email. Facebook has more than 500 million users, Twitter has more than 175 million users and LinkedIn has more than 100 million. With the explosive adoption of social media, many companies feel they have lost control of their brands and are not engaged with their customers and prospects on the social web.

Salesforce.com recognizes that the incredible adoption of social media has brought about a massive shift in the industry, the shift to Cloud 2. The first phase of cloud computing was about leveraging technologies that were low cost, fast and easy to use on your desktop. Cloud 2 represents the next generation of cloud computing, one that is inherently social, mobile and open. The proposed acquisition of Radian6 will accelerate the enterprise’s shift to Cloud 2 by helping companies better manage the social interactions taking place both inside and outside their companies.

Comments on the News

● “With Radian6, salesforce.com is gaining the technology and market leader in social media monitoring,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “We see this as a huge opportunity. Not only will this acquisition accelerate our growth, it will extend the value of all of our offerings.”
● “Social media has made every business recognize the value of paying attention to the voice of the customer. Radian6’s technology is built for the new norm of customer engagement – real time, two way conversations that includes social channels,” said Marcel LeBrun, CEO of Radian6. “Joining the salesforce.com team will allow Radian6 to grow faster to meet the demands of our rapidly expanding customer base.”

Radian6 Will Deliver Insights from the Public Social Web to Salesforce.com’s Products

As the cloud computing leader, salesforce.com sees companies looking for an open, scalable and trusted social media monitoring platform that is completely integrated with their customer information. With the combination of Salesforce and Radian6, companies will be able to bring the heart of the public social web into salesforce.com’s applications and platform including:

● Sales and Service Cloud: Social media monitoring and engagement has emerged as the requirement for any brand and customer engagement strategy, helping companies join conversations about their brands and stay connected to their customers and prospects. By combining Radian6’s social media monitoring and engagement platform with Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, companies will be able to keep customer success at the center of their business with real-time social intelligence.

● Salesforce Chatter: Radian6 and salesforce.com will create the bridge between public social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and online communities, and Salesforce Chatter, the private, secure social network for the enterprise. Chatter feeds will no longer just contain the activity happening within the walls of a company, but will be filled with real time insights from fans on Facebook pages, followers on Twitter, comments on blog posts and more.

● Force.com Platform: Developers will be able to build apps that tap into the power of Radian6, putting the social web into everything they build. In such a dynamic market, this acquisition will present a huge opportunity for salesforce.com to extend its developer and partner ecosystem with technology not available anywhere else.

Details Regarding the Proposed Radian6 Acquisition

Salesforce.com will acquire Radian6 for approximately $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, net of cash acquired. In addition, approximately $10M in stock and $4M in cash will be issued to founders and will be subject to vesting conditions over two years. The acquisition has been approved by Radian6’s board of directors and stockholders and is expected to close in the second quarter of salesforce.com’s fiscal 2012, ending July 31, 2011, subject to customary closing conditions.

Additional details and information about the terms and conditions of the acquisition will be available in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by salesforce.com with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Radian6

Radian6 is the leading social media monitoring, engagement and insights platform with over 2,400 customers including Dell, Kodak, PepsiCo, and UPS, as well as many of the world’s leading public relations and marketing agencies. The first-ever Radian6 User Conference, Social 2011 , is being held in Boston on April 7 and 8. For information on Radian6 visit www.radian6.com.

About Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that has transformed the way companies collaborate and communicate. Salesforce.com is leading the effort to bring Cloud 2, the next paradigm for computing, to the enterprise by offering its customers the social collaboration, mobility and openness that are the hallmark of this new world.