$11 IPO price values Salesforce.com at $1.1 billion

By Michael Liedtke
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Online software pioneer Salesforce.com Inc. priced its closely watched IPO at $11 per share, raising $110 million, or 38 percent more than the company originally anticipated.

The robust demand for Salesforce.com's initial public offering of 10 million shares represents the latest sign of investors' renewed interest in taking risks on young companies.

The San Francisco-based company set an $8-per-share price target in April, then raised the goal to $9.50 per share yesterday before the deal's investment bankers, led by Morgan Stanley, capitalized on the strong demand to raise even more money.

The final IPO price values Salesforce.com at $1.1 billion after just five years in business. The company's shares will make their trading debut today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, "CRM" — a shorthand reference to the "customer relationship management" software made by the company.

The IPO pricing will culminate Salesforce.com's unusually long journey to the stock market. The company filed its IPO plans six months ago, with hopes of going public in the spring.

The offering bogged down, though, after regulators required the company to change the way it accounted for sales commissions issues.

Another hurdle arose after Salesforce.com's colorful CEO, Marc Benioff, cooperated with a New York Times story published in May.

The article prompted Salesforce.com to delay the IPO to avoid running up against securities laws requiring a "quiet period" leading up to company's stock market debut.