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🎾 Tennis courts at Wall Street: the extraordinary course of Orlando Bravo
The story of Thoma Bravo Do not start in a Wall Street market hall or in one of the prestigious universities of Ivy League, but in a small coastal town in Puerto Rico. Born in 1970, Orlando Bravotoday at the head of one of the most influential private equity tech funds in the worldgrew up Mayagüezfar from the financial excitement of New York.
🏆 to 15 years oldhe joined Braderonin Florida, to register for Nick Bollettieri’s tennis schoolwhich formed the greatest champions: Agassi, Becker, Seles, the Sisters Williamsand so many others.
But very quickly, Orlando Bravo admits that If it is good, it will never be one of the best. His big lesson, learned during her spartan training, ” I understood that I could be effective under pressure and in pain. »»
He then returns to Mayagüez To finish his secondary studies, then flies away to Brown Universitywhere he won a Ba in economics and political science in 1992.
It’s at Morgan Stanley that he puts his start in mergers and acquisitions. He discovers the universe of complex transactions, tense negotiations and Big Deals at several billion.
He will then make his arms to Morgan Stanley, a dive into the world of mergers and acquisitions under the aegis of Joseph Perellaone of the most formidable Wall Street negotiators. Working 100 hours per week, he quickly found himself on the front line on major transactions in Latin America, especially with the billionaire Gustavo Cisneros.
But the investment bank does not fascinate him. He then decides to resume his studies and integrates Stanfordwhere he gets a JD/MBA – a combination of diplomas in Law and business formidable which opens the doors of the business world to him.
After a summer visit to Seaver Kent, a subsidiary of Texas Pacific Group, he struggles to find a position up to his ambitions and sends a hundred applications. It is ultimately Carl Thomafounder of GTCR, which offered him an opportunity in 1998: Identify investments in California.
Software bet: a strategic breakup
At the end of the 1990s, the markets entered an unknown phase, carried by the development of the Internet and Digital. However, The euphoria of the dot-com years is violently swept by The bursting of the technological bubble In 2000. Many investors are afraid and moved away from the sector. Orlando Bravo sees it as an opportunity that should not be missed.
His vision is quite simple: Software will dominate the economy. The fund directs its radars to all companies and startups in the sector and abandons its investments in traditional industries.
“We have borrowed a lot from the history of the fund, but we applied these methods to a new sector: that of tech. »»
The first life -size test takes place in 2002 With the buyout of Prophet 21a publisher of Software for distributors. The bet is more than risky: The company has never been profitable in fifteen years of existence. However, Orlando Bravo is convinced that she has unexploited potential.
It structures a Deal almost without debtrefinance the company and recruits Marcel Bernardthe operational that will pilot the company – a decision that will later become A marker of the Thoma Bravo method :: Always associate finance and field execution.
It is the latter who will inspire this trademark. During the investigation of the Prophet21 file, Marcel Bernard told Orlando Bravo “we can work with this team. They have the support of their employees, knowledge of their customers and they want to win. Let me work with them. »»
Orlando Bravo adheres to this collaborative approach, alongside Chuck Boyle, CEO of Prophet 21, he is working to maximize profits by consolidating the market. Another anecdote, when Chuck Boyle plans to acquire Faspac, Bravo takes the plane for San Diego. He spends five days in the garage of the owner of Faspac, analyzing each contract to assess the potential gains of the transaction. “Orlando was not satisfied to bring us a strategic vision, he also put his hands in the citch”, recalls Boyle.
In three years, Prophet 21 doubles its turnover and realize Seven strategic acquisitions To structure a build who will become a Key actor of software for distributors. When Activating solutions bought it in 2005the operation ends with a Transfer of $ 215 millionwith a yield of 4.7x for Thoma Bravo.
For Orlando Bravo, the strategy is now clear: Thoma Bravo will not be an opportunistic fund playing on economic cycles, but a hyper-specialized actor in the acquisition and optimization of tech companies.
In 2008the transformation is acted: Thoma Cressey Equity Partners becomes Thoma Bravo. A new name to mark the occasion and Total abandonment of other sectors.
Consequently, the fund enters a phase unpublished expansion. THE number of deals acceleratesTHE invested amounts explode. Between 2016 and 2022, Thoma Bravo raises more than $ 60 billionbecoming One of the first independent funds specializing in tech.
🛒 Emblematic acquisitions:
- Medallia ($ 6.4 billion) – Specialist in customer feedback analysis
- Anaplan ($ 10.4 billion) – Cloud planning solution
- Proofpoint ($ 12.3 billion) – Cybersecurity leader
- Software coupa ($ 8 billion) – Reference of expense management software
🛡️ Between parallel, Thoma Bravo becomes a key actor in cybersecurityby buying Barracuda Networks, Waterproof, Sailpoint and Darktrace. We will come back in One of our next articles on this Offensive in cybersecurity which shakes the sector.
🔥 A method that shakes up the private equity
Until then, the idea that a funds could buy a technological business without drastically restructuring it seemed absurd. THE Private Equity had built on a model almost mechanical :: Buy a company, reduce costs, maximize profitability, then resell to the most offering.
Thoma Bravo’s approach changes the situation:
- Transform rather than strip – The fund puts on the forces in place instead of imposing external management.
- Bet on growth rather than immediate profitability – Invest in expansion instead of reducing costs.
- Rigorous monitoring – “Our companies record an average of 15 % annual growth”, proof that a private equity focused on technology can combine value creation and financial discipline. »»
“When we buy a business, we do not come with a pre -established plan to change everything. We bet on the teams in place and we give them the means to accelerate their growth. »»
To follow: in -depth analysis of the Thoma Bravo strategy
In the next episodes, we will approach:
✔ Value creation strategies behind each acquisition
✔ The impact of buyouts on the performance of portfolio companies
✔ A detailed analysis of the most significant deals of the fund
💡 Is the Thoma Bravo model the future of Private Equity or a risky bet?
🔜 Next episode: How Thoma Bravo transforms his acquisitions into success stories.
