Salesforce Adds Tools With $360M SteelBrick Acquisition

Salesforce.com Inc. revealed in a filing Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire SteelBrick for about $360 million in stock, giving the company its own so-called quote-to-cash offering. The software segment, which allows businesses to configure and track the process of pricing and ordering, has grown rapidly, and many of the top companies have built on Salesforce's platform, such as billion-dollar startup Apptus. Technology website The Information reported last week that Salesforce -- which invested $18 million in SteelBrick during a 2015 venture funding round -- was in talks to buy the company for up to $600 million. Salesforce said the $360 million total does not count the amount Salesforce will save from its previous investment in the company, nor roughly $60 million in cash the company holds. Salesforce expects the deal to close by the end of its first fiscal quarter, which completes at the end of April 2016.