Elliott Takes Multibillion-Dollar Activist Stake in Salesforce

Hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has taken a substantial activist stake in Salesforce Inc., making its move after layoffs and a deep stock swoon at the enterprise software giant.

Elliott, which often pushes for strategic changes and seeks board representation, took a multibillion-dollar stake in the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. The San Francisco company had a market capitalization of $151 billion at Friday’s close, down from a peak of more than $300 billion in 2021.

“Salesforce is one of the preeminent software companies in the world, and having followed the company for nearly two ...