Salesforce nears deal to buy startup Own for US$2 billion

SALESFORCE said it was buying data protection and management solutions provider Own for US$1.9 billion, the company's second acquisition this week. The deal "underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers' most valuable data," Steve Fisher, a Salesforce executive focused on data products, said in a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. Own focuses on securing data across software applications. Since incorporating in 2015, it has received funding from Salesforce Ventures, BlackRock Inc. and Tiger Global. It changed its name from OwnBackup last October, according to Own's website. The company was valued at US$3.35 billion after a funding round in 2021, according to a statement at the time. The Salesforce transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to the statement. Own is Salesforce's biggest de...