salesforce.com Acquiring Radian6; Social Media Monitoring No Longer a Cottage Industry

Nothing makes me smile wider than waking up to find out that a social media monitoring vendor has just agreed to be acquired.

But Andy, I hear you ask, you’re happy that one of Trackur‘s competitors has been acquired? How so?

Well, it completely validates the social media monitoring industry and, when companies like Radian6 get acquired by companies like salesforce.com, you can’t get much more in the way of validation than that.

The deal is expected to close at the end of July and will be worth $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock. In addition, Radian6′s founders get another $14 million in cash and stock. I pause here to note that it’s interesting that the earnout for the founders is singled out. I also wonder just how much equity Radian6 had handed over to venture capital firms, to be earning a comparatively small percentage of the total sale price.

Marketing Pilgrim’s Reputation Channel is sponsored by Trackur’s social media monitoring tools. Plans start at just $18 a month and you are up and running in just 60-seconds!

So, just how big is Radian6? Here’s a few of the facts I’ve pieced together–yes, I love keeping a close eye on Trackur’s competitors.

• Founded in 2006
• Around 300 employees
• Will add $45-50 million in revenues to salesforce.com over the next year
• Sale price estimated at 6-7 10 times annual revenue

So, yeah, a big congrats to Radian6 on a successful exit. The company will reportedly remain an independent company, but that tends to be the de-facto statement in acquisitions–to prevent clients from scattering in fear of being assimilated by the acquiring company.

As for Trackur? We’re going to keep on doing what we do. Trackur grew 110% in 2010. Trackur is now the largest social media monitoring tool with 32,000+ registered users. And, sneak peek here, we’re planning new features that will so severely shake up the pricing model in the industry, our competitors are going to be glad they sold when they did.

Disclaimer: Andy Beal is the CEO and founder of Trackur, the worlds best social media monitoring tool, so he’s obviously biased when it comes to this subject–even in his disclaimers!