Salesforce will acquire Burlington's Demandware

A Burlington e-commerce company will be acquired for nearly $3 billion by San Francisco-based Salesforce, the companies announced yesterday.

“I am proud of the community we have built and thankful to the clients who believed in our vision and entrusted us with their business,” Demandware chief executive Tom Ebling wrote in a blog post. “I am also proud of Demandware employees whose dedication and hard work have made this combination and its many benefits possible. I am confident that the Demandware team will continue to be an important contributor as part of Salesforce.”

Salesforce has agreed to pay $75 a share, valuing Demandware at $2.8 billion.

The megadeal is expected to close later this year.

Shares of Demandware shot up on the news, closing up 55.89 percent, or $26.82 per share, to close at $74.81 per share. Shares of Salesforce plunged following the announcement, but recovered and closed down slightly at the end of the day.

“Demandware is an amazing company — the global cloud leader in the multibillion-dollar digital commerce market,” said Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce in a statement.

“With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce.”

Salesforce sells software subscriptions to businesses, including for sales and marketing.

By adding an e-commerce aspect to its offerings, the company expects Salesforce will be more attractive to potential customers.

Founded in 2004, Demandware has more than 1,000 employees.

The company’s software helps companies process a variety of e-commerce transactions.

“It was one of the fastest investment decisions I made,” said Michael Skok, a venture capitalist now with Assemble VC who led North Bridge Venture’s investment in Demandware. “They are always and have been from Day One founded from this principle of being a great partner to their customers.”

The company says Demandware’s employees will remain in Burlington.