With roughly 21% of the $1.62bn industry revenue, Marketo is the only enterprise technology not to be owned by a tech giant. It is therefore no surprise it would make a good acquisition for several organisations.
Google, Microsoft and SAP come to mind in terms of technology giants since they do not have a marketing automation tool within their armoury.
I would expect any acquisition to be more than just about a new product but also a diverse portfolio of clients such as Hyundai, Panasonic or Xero.
With Marketo lacking a native CRM there is an opportunity for the company to start competing as an entire stack against Salesforce, Oracle or Adobe.
Marketo Inc., a maker of marketing software, is working with Morgan Stanley to explore strategic alternatives including a potential sale, people with knowledge of the matter said. No deal is imminent and discussions with potential buyers may not result in a transaction, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Marketo, whose customers include CA Technologies and Charles Schwab Corp., is speaking with both strategic companies and private equity firms to gauge their interest in acquiring the company, the people said.
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