What is Stewart Butterfield's net worth? Here's why Slack CEO agreed to sell app to Salesforce for $27.7B
Workplace tool Slack has been acquired by software company Salesforce for approximately $27.7 billion on December 1. The Washington Post reports that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for a sale in cash and stock. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield will continue to lead Slack as an operating unit within Salesforce.
As per the report, the software company plans to merge Slack with its Salesforce Customer 360 software. The latter collects a company’s customer information in one place and Slack would be its new interface. The workplace chat tool has become essential for many remotely operating businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Post report states that Slack has said it has about 12 million daily active users and Salesforce on December 1, Tuesday, said Slack now has more than 142,000 paying customers.
Salesforce is known for its cloud-based programs for managing marketing and sales. This acquisition is one of its largest. This buying also gives Salesforce a chance to compete with one of its rivals, Microsoft, which has been promoting Teams heavily during the pandemic. In a press release, Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce said, “Stewart and his team have built one of the most beloved platforms in enterprise software history, with an incredible ecosystem around it. This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. I’m thrilled to welcome Slack to the Salesforce Ohana once the transaction closes.”
Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder, said, “Salesforce started the cloud revolution, and two decades later, we are still tapping into all the possibilities it offers to transform the way we work. The opportunity we see together is massive.”
The report notes that this acquisition by Salesforce gives Slack an infusion of cash and resources to build out its software faster and help it take on Microsoft Teams. Founded in 2009, Slack has done well in expanding on its own. But with the pandemic the focus has been on remote work and many big companies are suddenly more than interested in this part of the industry that facilitates a world without offices. As per the report, Salesforce has a good track record of buying companies and driving their growth, analysts say.
What is Stewart Butterfield’s net worth?
A 2019 Forbes article had stated that Butterfield had grabbed the billionaire status when the company hit the public market. The report had estimated his net worth to be around $1.6 billion. However, according to the latest Forbes report, Butterfield is set to receive just over $1 billion in cash for his Slack shares, but he’ll likely pay an estimated $390 million in state (California) and federal capital gains tax, which would get him about $660 million. Combine that with an estimated $67 million that Butterfield has got from selling over three million shares of Slack and he’s worth around $1.45 billion.
The report notes that, it is around $235 million more than he was worth a week ago. Shares of Slack shot up about 37% last Wednesday, November 25, following a report about the possible deal by the Wall Street Journal. Butterfield was worth a little more than $1.2 billion on Tuesday, November 24 before news of a possible deal broke, notes Forbes. The representatives for Slack have not yet responded to a request by Forbes to comment on Butterfield’s net worth.