Billionaire Marc Benioff Dodges a Bullet as Activist Investor Relents

2 years ago 458

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff dodged a bullet on Monday, as the hyper-aggressive activist investor Elliott Management announced that it would no longer try to nominate members to the company’s board, helping stave off a potentially ugly battle.

Elliott recently invested billions of dollars in the software company, suggesting that it intended to influence corporate strategy. Prior to Monday’s news, Salesforce had faced months of negative headlines; it announced plans to lay off 10 percent of its staff in January, and execs have floated the possibility of cutting even more.

Benioff nonetheless projected calm this week. In a joint statement with Elliott, he insisted that he had “thoroughly enjoyed getting to know” the firm and its managing partner Jesse Cohn, adding that he was “grateful for Jesse’s mindful and constructive ideas.”