Progress Software Bets on AI With $400 Million Deal for Domo’s Data Platform

Key Points

• Progress Software agreed to buy Domo’s AI and data platform business for a headline price of $400 million, with a net purchase price estimated at about $355 million after cash and tax benefits.
• Management said the deal fits Progress’s AI strategy by combining Domo’s cloud-native data platform with Progress’s capabilities in structured/unstructured data, governance, and agentic RAG to improve accuracy and lower AI costs.
• Progress expects the acquisition to close within its fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 2026, and said it should keep pro forma net leverage under 3x while it plans to deleverage quickly after closing.

Progress Software NASDAQ: PRGS said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Domo’s AI and data platform business in a transaction valued at a headline purchase price of $400 million, executives said on a conference call discussing the deal.

Anthony Folger, chief financial officer of Progress Software, said the company is acquiring “substantially all the assets” of Domo and assuming only certain liabilities. Progress has also agreed to pay up to $15 million of seller transaction expenses. Folger said the purchase price includes a minimum acquired cash balance of $25 million and an estimated $35 million in net present value of tax benefits, resulting in a net purchase price of about $355 million.

Based on Domo’s fiscal 2026 results, Folger said the net purchase price represents a revenue multiple of “slightly more than one.” Progress plans to finance the acquisition with cash on hand and a portion of the current capacity on its revolving credit facility.

“Due to the strong deal economics, we don’t expect our pro forma net leverage ratio to be affected materially and believe it will remain under three times on a pro forma basis,” Folger said. He added that Progress intends to “deleverage quickly and aggressively” after the transaction closes.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Folger said Progress expects the deal to close within its current fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 2026. He also said the company reiterated its third-quarter guidance “at or above the high end” of the range it provided last quarter.

Progress Points to AI and Data Platform Strategy

Yogesh Gupta, chief executive officer of Progress Software, said the acquisition fits into the company’s AI product strategy by combining Domo’s cloud-native AI and data platform with Progress’ capabilities in structured and unstructured data management, data semantics and agentic retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG.

Gupta said enterprises need “context and control” to make AI effective, noting that organizational knowledge is often fragmented across systems of record, unstructured content and siloed applications.

“Ingesting, transforming, and aggregating this data is extremely difficult, and doing it at scale with security and governance is even harder,” Gupta said. “This is an area where Domo excels.”

Gupta described Domo’s platform as an intuitive, scalable and secure cloud-native AI and data platform that automates the ingestion and transformation of data from a wide range of sources. He said organizations can store data in Domo’s cloud platform or in partner cloud data warehouses such as Snowflake or Databricks.

According to Gupta, combining Domo’s offerings with the Progress Data Platform will help customers aggregate and interpret enterprise knowledge across both structured and unstructured data. He said the combined capabilities are intended to help AI agents use only the relevant subset of information needed for a task, rather than working across an overly broad data set.

“The end result is more accurate and more verifiable outcomes at dramatically lower costs,” Gupta said.

Domo Customer Base and Consumption Model Highlighted

Gupta said more than 85% of Domo’s annual recurring revenue is now consumption-based, citing Domo’s previously announced results. He also said Domo has 2,400 customers and has pursued a partner strategy with cloud data warehouses.

During the question-and-answer portion of the call, Lawrence Vensko, an equity research associate at Guggenheim Securities, asked about what Progress is not taking on in the asset purchase. Folger said the assets left behind include Domo’s accumulated net operating losses and debt.

“Obviously, the debt is a significant liability, which is why we said we’re acquiring pretty much all the assets of the business and a good portion of their liabilities, excluding the debt,” Folger said.

Vensko also asked about retention rates. Gupta said Domo’s net retention and gross retention rates for its consumption-based business are “very similar to overall Progress,” and said data platform businesses tend to be sticky.

Executives Say Customer Overlap Is Limited

Eric Martinuzzi, senior research analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, asked about the prior business relationship between Progress and Domo and whether the companies had meaningful customer overlap. Gupta said there is some overlap, as is typical among enterprise software companies, but he did not characterize it as significant.

Martinuzzi also asked about potential cash proceeds for Domo shareholders. Gupta and Folger said that question was for Domo, noting that Progress is buying assets and certain liabilities, while decisions about the remaining business would be made by Domo.

Progress Declines to Detail Synergies Before Close

Lucky Schreiner, vice president and research analyst at D.A. Davidson, asked about Domo’s recent growth outlook and margin profile, including potential cost synergies. Gupta declined to identify specific areas before the deal closes, but said Progress has a track record of acquiring companies that were barely break-even and bringing margins closer to Progress’ profile over time.

Schreiner also asked whether Progress plans to move the rest of Domo’s customer base to consumption pricing. Gupta said Domo has been moving customers from a seat-based licensing model to a consumption-based model for roughly two and a half to three years, but said Progress would provide more detail after the close.

Asked about confidence in driving growth given trends among business intelligence peers, Gupta said Progress sees opportunity in Domo’s consumption customer base and in combining the two companies’ products. He noted that Progress is not expecting rapid growth overall, saying the company has previously discussed expectations for approximately 2% ARR growth this year.

Gupta closed the call by saying Progress is “excited” about Domo’s AI and data platform business and expects to provide more information when the deal closes.

About Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS)

Progress Software NASDAQ: PRGS is a global provider of enterprise software designed to simplify and accelerate the delivery of business applications. The company's offerings span digital experience management, application development and deployment, data connectivity and integration, and predictive analytics. Progress supports organizations in building, deploying, and managing mission-critical applications across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments, helping to reduce development complexity and operational overhead.

Key products in Progress's portfolio include Progress OpenEdge, a robust development and database platform for building transactional applications; Progress DataDirect, which enables high-performance connectivity to disparate data sources; Progress Sitefinity, a digital experience platform for content management and personalization; Progress Telerik, a suite of UI controls and developer tools; and Progress Kinvey, a serverless backend platform for mobile and web applications.

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