Salesforce to buy Israel's ClickSoftware for $1.35 billion

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. cloud-based service provider Salesforce said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli software developer ClickSoftware for $1.35 billion (£1.11 billion) in cash and shares.

Salesforce said adding ClickSoftware, which makes cloud-based field service management software, would accelerate the growth of its Service Cloud platform.

The deal comes a week after Salesforce completed its more than $15 billion purchase of big data firm Tableau.

Salesforce said its offer was net of the value of shares it already owns, after taking into consideration estimated purchase price adjustments.

The acquisition is expected to close during Salesforce's fiscal quarter ending Oct. 31 pending various approvals.

Israeli media reported in January that Salesforce was in talks to buy ClickSoftware for around $1.5 billion.

U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners bought ClickSoftware in 2015 for $438 million and delisted it from Nasdaq.

This would be the second significant deal by Salesforce in Israel since July 2018 when it paid $850 million for Datorama, a cloud-based artificial intelligence marketing platform.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen)