Thoma Bravo scores a cybersecurity exit; healthcare investors still see gaps in buyer and seller expectations

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Thoma Bravo scores a cybersecurity exit; healthcare investors still see gaps in buyer and seller expectations

Good morning, Hubsters.

MK Flynn here, rested and refreshed from my vacation and back on the Wire.

The week in PE deals is off to a strong start with a big exit for Thoma Bravo.We’ll take a look at the deal and at some of the firm’s buying and selling strategies.

We’ve also got a report on some of the themes discussed at McGuireWoods 20th Annual Healthcare Private Equity and Finance Conferenceearlier in the month.

Let’s get started.

Deal of the day

Thoma Bravo, the world’s largest tech buyout firm, is selling Venafi, a specialist in machine identity management, to CyberArk, for approximately $1.54 billion ($1 billion in cash and $540 million in shares).

Subscribers to the premium version of the Wire may learn all about the deal.

Repeat business

It’s not the first time Thoma Bravo has sold a company to CyberArk. Back in 2020, CyberArk bought identity management software developer Idaptive from the PE firm.

The firm often has repeat buyers. I spoke with co-founder Orlando Bravo about the strategy back in March, at PEI Group’s NEXUS 2024 conference.

Subscribers may watch the interview here.

Buyside

Thoma Bravo has not only been selling cybersecurity providers. The firm has been actively snatching up cybersecurity companies recently in big take-private deals.

To find out about the firm’s deals, subscribe to the premium version of the Wire.

It’s the economy, stupid

Valuations was one of the main discussion points at McGuireWoods 20th Annual Healthcare Private Equity and Finance Conference. The event, which PE Hub’s healthcare reporter John R Fischer attended, brought together about 900 healthcare-focused PE firm personnel, consultants, tax accountants, investment bankers, credit lenders and others to discuss trends and strategies around healthcare PE dealmaking.

Check out John’s story for more insights from the conference and subscribe to the premium version of the Wire to learn what healthcare investors are saying.

That’s it for today. Craig McGlashan will be with you tomorrow.

Dubliners

Before I sign off, I’d like to thank all of you who sent me travel tips on visiting Ireland!

Highlights of my trip included visiting the Long Room at Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and a brief sunset stop at Furbo Beach outside Galway. Along the way, I picked up some Mullingar pewter bookmarks in honor of my great great grandfather Thomas Patrick Flynn, who lived in Mullingar before immigrating to the US in 1845.

Sláinte,

MK

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

EQT predicted that Maarten de Jong’s rare alchemy of chemist by background and investment banker by trade would yield golden returns when it appointed him head of its latest strategy, Healthcare Growth. De Jong, the latest member of PE Hub Europe’s Dealmakers to Watch series, said that mixture means he and his team will be able to speak the language of the strategy’s target sellers and buyers.

In an era of high interest rates, an upcoming debt maturity wall is causing angst among private equity-backed companies – especially at the small end of the spectrum. (Buyouts)

Kansas Public Employees’ Retirement System is considering ramping its target to private equity after the state legislature lifted a cap on the system’s alternatives exposure. (Buyouts)

Performance watch: Blue Owl’s GP stakes funds. The GP stakes giant is seeking $13bn for its sixth flagship, according to Private Equity International data.

They said it

“Over the course of our investment, Venafi has accelerated SaaS growth, expanded margins, and successfully created a best-in-class SaaS offering, setting the stage for continued innovation.”

— Chip Virnig, partner, Thoma Bravo, on selling Venafi to CyberArk