Adobe chatting up Marketo – reports

Adobe, the developer of software clouds for creative types, is reportedly locked in talks to buy marketing software-as-a-service slinger Marketo.

California-based Marketo, which writes B2B marketing applications, was taken private a little more than two years ago by private equity house Vista Equity Partner Management LLC in a transaction worth $1.8bn. Marketo had floated in 2013.

It is clear that should Adobe convince Vista to part with a slice of its investment portfolio, Marketo will cost Adobe a higher sum. Reuters was first to report the negotiations but didn’t mention the price. It further added there is no certainty an agreement will be reached.

Founded in 2006 as an email marketing service, Marketo sells an online automated marketing service to lines of biz folk: in this case marketing pros that have a problem, and take the corporate credit card to buy a service they think will solve it. The tech department gets involved later on.

Marketo confirmed last month that it was moving all of its software onto Google’s Cloud Partner in a six-year agreement to integrate the Chocolate Factory’s tools into its wares.

A sale would certainly bolster Adobe’s marketing cloud line that currently sits in the Adobe Experience Cloud, which turned over $586m in the firm’s Q2 ended 1 June 2018, up 18 per cent on the year ago period.

Adobe’s last buy came in May when it agreed to stump up $1.68bn for e-commerce services provider Permira.

Marketo did not respond to calls for comment. ®