Salesforce to acquire marketing startup Krux for $700m

San Francisco startup Krux has agreed to be taken over by Salesforce.com Inc in a deal thought to be worth in the region of $700m, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Krux is a marketing data firm that offers consultations on how to develop advertising for its clients. The two companies were already partners, but have now solidified the relationship into a merger, according to the report.

Cloud software provider Salesforce is hoping to develop the marketing and analytics side of its business, with the announcement of the acquisition.

The deal is expected to close by the end of January 2017, and will see Krux become a wholly owned subsidiary of Salesforce.

Krux's clients currently include the likes of the BBC, Ticketmaster and L'Oreal.

CEO Tom Chavez said in a blog post that he hopes that the ctwo companies will continue to benefit each other in the future.

"Beyond the strategic and technology fit, we believe our companies' core values, which include innovation, trust, transparency, and most importantly customer success, are in perfect alignment," Chavez wrote.