Adobe has snapped up marketing automation business Marketo in a deal worth $4.75billion. The company plans to add Marketo's services to its Adobe Experience Cloud that the company said will deliver "transformative customer experiences across industries and companies of all sizes".
The acquisition has been on the cards for a while as the software-as-a-service business takes aim at its competitors in the enterprise marketing space, such as SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft. Last year, Adobe bought e-commerce platform Magento and together, these two new purchases will allow Adobe to really boost its presence in the retail marketing space.
"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 Adobe's digital experience division. "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."
As well as bringing Marketo's tech into the Adobe business, the SaaS leader will also gain access to Marketo's network of 500 partners and an engaged marketing community with over 65,000 members.
As a result of the acquisition, Marketo's CEO Steve Lucas will join Adobe and report into Rencher when the deal closes in the fourth quarter. It's not clear who else will be joining Adobe's head office as yet.
"Adobe and Marketo both share an unwavering belief in the power of content and data to drive business results," Lucas added. "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.
