Salesforce.com To Buy Social Media Company Radian6 For $326 Million

Salesforce.com (CRM) said it is buying social media monitoring firm Radian6 for about $326 million in stock and cash, continuing its aggressive push to keep up with social media trends through its cloud computing platform.

Salesforce.com shares were up 0.7% to $128.28 in light premarket trading Wednesday. The stock has risen 69% over the past 12 months.

Salesforce.com has been spending heavily to sustain its rapid sales growth and make its cloud computing network for businesses into a social environment. To that end, the company said Radian6’s social-media monitoring platform will help clients track and analyze their outreach efforts while keeping track of what is being said about their brand.

Under the agreement, Salesforce.com will pay about $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock for the company, net of cash acquired. The deal will also offer Radian6’s founders an additional $10 million in stock and $4 million in cash subject to vesting conditions over the next two years.

Radian6’s technology captures hundreds of millions of conversations each day from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs and other online communities. Its clients include Dell Inc. (DELL), General Electric Co. (GE), Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP, TAPA) and Pepsico Inc. (PEP).

The cloud computing company expects to close the deal in its fiscal second quarter, which ends July 31. The deal is expected to increase revenue in that period by about $5 million, while hurting adjusted earnings by about 8 cents a share.