Conga plans to keep hiring in Broomfield office after reported $715M merger

BROOMFIELD — Software maker Conga plans to continue hiring in the Denver metro area after it agreed to be acquired by rival Apttus this week.

In an interview Friday afternoon, Bob Pinkerton, Conga chief financial officer, declined to confirm or deny the deal’s $715 million price tag as reported by Bloomberg. However, he said the two companies together are in a far stronger position to compete for a specific cut of the service-as-a-software industry worth between $20 billion to $50 billion.

Apttus’ main products are configure-quote-pricing programs that help sellers manage complex quotes, while Conga builds software to manage document transformation, such as a contract being marked up between a buyer and seller.

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The two companies had some level of competition within the space, particularly within the ecosystem of sales management software giant Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM). The new company will run under the Conga brand.

Apttus is majority-owned by private-equity firm Thoma Bravo, while Conga was previously majority-owned by Insight Partners. Pinkerton said the two firms have made deals in the past, and both firms will retain ownership stakes and seats on the combined board.

“When you look at those two things and think about where the markets are, it made sense to start having a conversation,” he said. 

Conga previously was considering an initial public offering last fall as part of a larger growth strategy, but Pinkerton said the rapid growth presented by Apttus was the best choice in terms of “fast-forwarding” along its growth strategy.

“When we thought about the opportunity to do this deal and create a $400 million powerhouse in the market right now, and weighed that against other opportunities, we felt this was the right one,” he said.

For now, Conga remains a company in Broomfield. Pinkerton said there are no plans at the moment to move staff between the two locations, and newly-minted CEO Frank Holland will continue to run the company remotely from Seattle.

The combined company currently employs about 300 people in the area, with room to hold up to 600 in its 88,000-square-foot office. Pinkerton expects the company to continue adding employees from along the Front Range.