Microsoft is reportedly evaluating a possible bid to acquire Salesforce.com, after the cloud software provider received an offer from another potential buyer, according to sources of Bloomberg that are familiar with the matter.
Salesforce, which currently has a market value nearing $50 billion, is in discussions with a pair of investment banks regarding the response to the acquisition approaches, two of the sources. Options for Salesforce include declining a buyer's offer or entering negotiations for a sale.
Microsoft does not have ongoing talks with Salesforce regarding a possible acquisition, with no such deal imminent, the sources said. However, one of the sources added that Microsoft has expected that it could compete in the acquisition of Salesforce if the company goes up for sale.
Another company was involved in discussions to acquire Salesforce as recently as last month, which spurred Microsoft's actions to evaluate a bid for the cloud software provider.
The company that purchases Salesforce will gain leadership position in customer relationship management software and cloud computing, which allows companies to store massive amounts of data online. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has tagged cloud computing as an important area of growth for the company.
According to FBR Capital analyst Daniel Ives, the acquisition of Salesforce by Microsoft will make "a ton of sense," with the deal going to be "the biggest acquisition in enterprise software history."
It is unclear, however, from which company the original offers of taking over Salesforce came from, with speculations suggesting that the offers were coming from either Microsoft or Oracle.
Last year, Microsoft reached an agreement with Salesforce to improve the compatibility of the software of the two companies. Microsoft has its own customer relationship management software, but it is nowhere near as successful as that of Salesforce.
Microsoft spokesman Tony Imperati and Salesforce spokeswoman Chi Hea Cho declined to issue a comment to Bloomberg on the matter.
Last week, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said that if Salesforce is sold, the software market will experience a huge disruption. However, upon being asked whether Oracle is looking to acquire Salesforce, Catz declined to comment.
Ives, however, expects Oracle, along with Amazon, as companies that may have interest in acquiring Salesforce, with the analyst expecting a competitive bidding war for Salesforce possibly happening.
