Is the 58% premium acquisition of SEFSEX (CRM.US) igniting anticipated mergers and acquisitions, and software stocks leapt from AI losers to “C position in the M&A market”?

The Zhitong Finance App learned that as of the close of the US stock market on October 20, the stock price of CRM cloud software giant CRM.US (CRM.US) had a cumulative increase of 5.6% since October. In contrast, the NASDAQ Composite Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.6% and 10.6% respectively during the same period. Compared with a wide range of global technology sectors, the stock price is relatively strong and has a clear trajectory of bucking the trend.

According to the latest developments, the company recently announced an agreement to acquire Braze with a corporate value of 5.66 billion US dollars — an amazing premium of 58%, which can be described as adding new catalysts to the company's AI application layout. Wall Street financial giant Jefferies (Jefferies) is optimistic about marketing platform upgrades and industry integration, maintaining a “purchase” with a target price of $300. The closing price of $242.43 means a potential increase of about 23.7%; Klaviyo, one of the leaders in AI application software, has thus become a further potential acquisition by SAFTSE On the other hand, Adobe and Twilio are facing more intense competitive pressure in the field of enterprise-level AI applications. The deal sends a major investment signal — software assets with customer data, business processes, and access channels still have strategic value that large platforms are willing to pay a premium to obtain under the wave of AI applications dominated by AI agents.

Seflex's acquisition of Braze may trigger more software mergers and acquisitions

The Jefferies team of analysts said that the $5.66 billion SEFTSE deal could drive the integration of the software industry, enhance marketing capabilities, and trigger speculation surrounding Klaviyo's acquisition.

The agency said its major deal to acquire Braze (BRZE.US) for US$5.66 billion could trigger further consolidation in the software industry. The agency believes that the acquisition will enhance Seflex's marketing business and its competitive advantage over Adobe (ADBE.US), one of the leaders in the software industry, while also triggering speculation about a new round of large-scale software industry acquisitions surrounding similar industries such as Klaviyo (KVYO.US).

After Seflex traded with Braze, marketing software was integrated or accelerated under the big wave of AI applications. Jefferies pointed out that before SAFTSE and Braze reached an agreement, the software industry had already seen two other major deals involving CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings (CCCS.US) and Varonis Systems (VRNS.US). The agency listed Klaviyo as a potential acquisition target under the ongoing integration of the marketing technology industry.

Klaviyo helps consumer brands and online retailers use customer data to personalize marketing and customer communications. In the second quarter, its revenue increased 26% year over year to US$370.6 million, prompting the company to raise its annual sales revenue forecast.

CCC Intelligent Solutions agreed to accept a $6.1 billion cash acquisition from the consortium led by GTCR and Elliott Investment Management, and shareholders received $7.75 per share. Meanwhile, Varonis Systems agreed to accept a $6.3 billion all-cash acquisition proposed by Proofpoint supported by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Both deals will privatize the acquired companies.

Jefferies believes HubSpot (HUBS.US) is unlikely to be acquired, but if a deal occurs, private equity firms are more likely to become buyers.

Jefferies is optimistic about the Braze deal, believing that the acquisition will inject vitality into Seflex's marketing and business cloud and enhance its ability to serve consumer-facing corporate customers (B2C). The combined capabilities will also help Safeco compete more effectively with Adobe in digital marketing and customer interaction.

Braze completed 18 major technology and IP acquisitions within 18 months, expanding products and technology. Jefferies believes this strategy has been effective. Maintaining the most bullish rating for SAFTSE's “buy” and a target price of $300 shows that it is still confident after the Braze deal.

The deal could present challenges for Twilio (TWLO), which helps businesses manage communications. Jefferies said the acquisition reflects the growing importance of customer interaction tools, but Seflex's increased capabilities may increase the competition Twilio faces.

Additionally, Safrus may reduce its reliance on external messaging service providers or drive price reductions, thereby increasing competition in the field of corporate messaging and customer interaction services.

From customer databases to “AI+ marketing actions”, the smart device frenzy opens up AI application monetization space

On the Stocktwits platform, retail investors remained “neutral” about the stock, and the number of related posts surged 820% in the past 24 hours. A retail investor said, “Safrus bought Braze with 58% premium cash, reversing the logic of software stock trading: in the past three years, the market viewed software as an AI loser and shorted, but now the biggest platforms are buying them. If the next stage of AI trading is mergers and acquisitions, crowded software stock short positions face a significant risk of being shorted.”

Another retail investor believes that software stocks were excessively sold off in 2026, and mentioned Adobe, SafeTime, and ServiceNow. The user believes that despite a sharp decline in valuation, these “companies are still generating huge cash flow, deepening the important layout related to AI application software, and are at the core of the actual operation of the enterprise.”

In the second quarter of the 2027 fiscal year, Saifushi's AI intelligence application platform, AgentForce, created more than US$1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR), an increase of more than 240% over the previous year. This caliber includes Slackbot and Headless 360; Claudeforce collaborated to further enable Claude to access its data, processes, and execute business operations.

Braze's real-time customer engagement (Customer Engagement) capabilities can transform browsing, purchasing, etc. into cross-channel marketing actions. Therefore, the underlying value of this latest acquisition is undoubtedly connecting customer data, AI decision-making and marketing execution, and implementing the intelligent value into customer transformation and retention. This latest trend also provides more specific support for software stock valuation at the positive level of AI applications — the data and enterprise-level operation processes accumulated by enterprises over a long period of time can become an important foundation for AI agents to create business results.