Adobe has agreed to acquire Marketo for US$4.75 billion, in a bid to challenge Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce in the competitive marketing cloud space.
Following widespread industry speculation, the tech giant will take control of the marketing cloud platform from Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm specialising in technology-related acquisitions.
Terms of the deal will see Adobe gain access to almost 5,000 Marketo customers, while also leveraging planning, engagement and measurement capabilities within an integrated B2B marketing platform.
Furthermore, the vendor’s ecosystem includes over 500 partners and a marketing community with over 65,000 members.
“The imperative for marketers across all industries is a laser focus on providing relevant, personalised and engaging experiences,” said Brad Rencher, executive vice president and general manager of digital experience at Adobe.
“The acquisition of Marketo widens Adobe’s lead in customer experience across B2C and B2B and puts Adobe Experience Cloud at the heart of all marketing.”
Rencher said Marketo’s platform is “feature-rich and cloud-native”, providing “significant opportunities” for integration across Adobe Experience Cloud as a result.
From a technology perspective, the acquisition aims to combine Adobe Experience Cloud analytics, content, personalisation, advertising and commerce offerings with Marketo’s lead management and account-based marketing technology.
The end result is the creation of a packaged solution capable of providing B2B companies with the ability to create, manage and execute marketing engagement at scale.
“Adobe and Marketo both share an unwavering belief in the power of content and data to drive business results,” added Steve Lucas, CEO of Marketo.
“Marketo delivers the leading B2B marketing engagement platform for the modern marketer, and there is no better home for Marketo to continue to rapidly innovate than Adobe.”
The transaction, which is expected to close during the fourth quarter of Adobe’s 2018 fiscal year, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
Upon close, Lucas will join Adobe's senior leadership team and continue to lead the Marketo team as part of Adobe’s Digital Experience business, reporting to Rencher.
