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Thoma Bravo takes another cybersecurity firm private; About Healthcare adds on

Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with today’s Wire.

This morning, we’re focusing on a big take-private cybersecurity deal from Thoma Bravo.

There’s also a report out that suggests PE folks remain optimistic, despite the fact that dealmaking is slower to come back than many had hoped.

On the PE Hub front, we’ve got one reporter in the field and another making a Deep Dive debut about a PE-backed healthcare company making add-ons.

And if you read to the end, I’ve got a scheduling note.

Deal of the day

Tech-focused PE firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Darktrace, a pioneer in cybersecurity artificial intelligence currently listed on the London Stock Exchange, in an all-cash deal valued at roughly $5.3 billion.

Upgrade to the premium version to read all about it and to discover more about Thoma Bravo’s strategy and past deals.

For more on Thoma Bravo’s strategy,watch my interview with co-founder Orlando Bravoon stage at PEI Group’s NEXUS 2024 conference back in March.

Adding on

About Healthcare, a developer of software for hospital operations, earlier in April announced its third add-on deal since Rubicon Technology Partners bought the company in 2020. About, based in St Paul, Minnesota, expects to make more add-on deals, Alex Kleiner, a partner at Rubicon, told PE Hub’s new healthcare reporter John R Fischer.

Upgrade to read all about it.

John joined PE Hub earlier in April. He’ll be writing about private equity deals in the healthcare sector. He was previously a senior reporter at DOTmed.com’s HealthCareBusinessNews, covering the medical equipment industry. He’ll be covering the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity and Finance Conference in Chicago in May and is looking to meet with sources there. Feel free to drop him a line and introduce yourself at: [email protected]

Resilience and optimism

Despite macroeconomic challenges still lingering, the private equity industry is showing resilience and optimism for 2024, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence 2024 Private Equity and Venture Capital Outlook.

Subscribers may learn more in the premium Wire.

Hubsters hit the road

If you’re at ACG Global’s DealMax 2024 in Las Vegas this week, be sure to introduce yourself to PE Hub senior reporter Michael Schoeck, who’s always on the prowl for deal exclusives. Shoot Michael a note at [email protected].

As for me, I’m taking a couple weeks off for vacation. In addition to hanging about New York City, I’ll be heading to Ireland. On my itinerary are Dublin, Galway, Kylemore Abbey, the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands. If you’ve got any PE deal tip – or Irish travel tips – for me, I’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. And I’ll be back on the Wire on Monday, May 20!

While I’m out, PE Hub Europe editor Craig McGlashan will be filling in for me, and Craig can be reached at [email protected]. And as usual, Craig will write Tuesday’s Wire.

I’ll close with a traditional Irish blessing:

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Cheers,

MK

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Nominations are now open for PEI Group’s fourth Women of Influence in Private Markets list. The deadline for nominations is end of day Friday 24 May. The annual program spotlights women who are making their mark in the alternative assets industry. This includes professionals working at fund managers, institutional investors and advisory firms who cover private equity, private debt, infrastructure, venture capital and real estate strategies. The Women of Influence list 2024 will be published in October by Private Equity International, Private Debt Investor, Infrastructure Investor, Venture Capital Journal and PERE.

The regulatory technology sector is “buzzing” and will be a prime area for M&A activity, John Hales, managing director at Bregal Milestone, told PE Hub Europe. “Compliance continues to be a huge pain point for regulated industries, estimated at $206 billion annually and growing,” Hales said.

Align Capital, formed by two ex-Riverside Company dealmakers in 2016, is doing something unique: the mid-market-focused private equity firm is raising an ancillary fund to invest alongside independent sponsors in the lower mid-market, according to sources and documents. (Buyouts)

For the third vintage of its Energy Transition debt strategy, Paris-headquartered Eiffel Investment Group is targeting €1 billion with the aim of accelerating the European energy transition. With a first close of nearly €500 million, Eiffel is well on its way to succeed with what would be a significant step up from its predecessor funds. (Infrastructure Investor)

In the third episode of "A Decade of Secondaries Investing," a special podcast series from Secondaries Investor, senior reporter Madeleine Farman talks to Harold Hope, global head of secondaries at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Holcombe Green, global head of private capital advisory at Lazard. Each explore the use of single-asset deals and analyse how the market is responding to them.

They said it

“Darktrace is at the very cutting edge of cybersecurity technology, and we have long been admirers of its platform and capability in artificial intelligence.”

— Andrew Almeida, partner, Thoma Bravo, on acquiring Darktrace