Private equity firm Thoma Bravo -- owner of ConnectWise, N-able and Sophos -- has raised more than $20 billion for a new Fund XV, according to Buyouts, a media site focused on the private capital market.
Speculative chatter about Fund XV first surfaced around August 2021. Despite recent financial market turbulence and jitters on Wall Street, Thoma Bravo quickly reached its target raise for Fund XV, multiple sources tell ChannelE2E.
Thoma Bravo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with more than $103 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021, the company notes.
Thoma Bravo's Software Investment Thesis
No doubt, Thoma Bravo remains on the hunt for more software acquisitions. But it sounds like CEO Orlando Bravo is taking a profit-led approach to buyout conversations.
The anecdotal evidence: "Growth at all costs is over," Bravo told CNBC in March 2022. "The changes in long-term software valuations was a long-time coming. People are getting tired of big, money-losing operations."
Bravo was not referring to software companies within the Thoma Bravo investment portfolio. Instead, he was pointing to over-valued, fast-growth SaaS stocks that had no near-term profit prospects.
Thoma Bravo's investments across the cybersecurity and MSP software market are well-documented. Key investments and holdings include ConnectWise. N-able, Proofpoint and Sophos -- along with a SailPoint Technologies acquisition that's expected to close later this year.
Thoma Bravo's Private Equity Rivals
Thoma Bravo was in the early hunt to potentially acquire Datto and perhaps align that business with ConnectWise or N-able, key sources indicate to ChannelE2E. But Kaseya, backed by private equity firm Insight Partners, ultimately won the bidding war for Datto. That deal is expected to close later this year.
Meanwhile, Vista Equity Partners, the private equity firm that's selling Datto to Kaseya, apparently opened virtual data room in late 2021 for its next fund to allow prospective investors access to documents related to the offering, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Also of note: Multiple private equity funds specifically target MSPs or technology companies that sell security, data protection, IT management and automation software to MSPs. Newly or recently formed funds to note include:
- Alpine Investors Fund VIII, which $2.25 billion and supports MSP buyer and investor Evergreen Services Group.
- Trinity Hunt Partners Fund VI, which raised $460 million. Trinity is well-known for IT services investments.
- Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund XI, which raised $8.35 billion. The firm’s existing investments include NinjaOne and Red Canary.
