Salesforce CEO Urges Extra Scrutiny of Microsoft's Acquisition of LinkedIn--Update

By Don Clark 

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- Salesforce.com Inc. Chief Executive Marc Benioff said rival Microsoft Corp.'s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn Inc. should face additional scrutiny by regulators because of its size.

"When you're the largest software company in the world, when you're Microsoft, you need to be treated differently," Mr. Benioff said Wednesday at the WSJDLive conference here.

Mr. Benioff, who also discussed topics including his company's decision not to pursue an acquisition of Twitter Inc., lost a bidding war for LinkedIn to Microsoft earlier this year. On Wednesday, he called into question the concentration of data in Microsoft's hands if the deal passes.

European regulators have focused on how companies are "using data as a competitive advantage against other companies," he said.

The European Union is reviewing the deal. It set an initial deadline of Nov. 22, but that can be extended, especially if the regulator has concerns about the deal. Microsoft aims to close the transaction by the end of the year.

Salesforce's deal-making has dominated the company's agenda recently. Earlier this month, it said it was walking away from a possible Twitter acquisition. On Wednesday, Mr. Benioff said Salesforce had a "very exciting vision" for Twitter, but shareholders strongly opposed it.

The Wall Street Journal reported details last week of an internal presentation to Salesforce directors that included a review of 14 possible takeover targets.

The presentation came from thousands of emails from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who sits on Salesforce's board, that were published in September by DCLeaks, a website of self-described hacktivists that releases documents from government officials and other prominent people.

Mr. Benioff called the disclosure unprecedented, but said the company's shareholders weren't displeased. It showed Salesforce had a "measured, thoughtful process" for evaluating possible acquisitions, he said.

Despite the leak, Mr. Benioff said he had no plan to give up using email. "Cybersecurity in our world is unfortunately an oxymoron," he said.

Write to Don Clark at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2016 17:04 ET (21:04 GMT)

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