Talk:Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravois officially looking to buy out Sophos, a top tier anti-virus and global infosecurity vendor with strong US establishment ties.

https://www.sophos.com/en-us/press-office/press-releases/2019/10/thoma-bravo-makes-offer-to-acquire-sophos.aspx

Thoma Bravo Makes Offer to Acquire Sophos for approximately 3.9 billion US dollars. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.99.111.252 (talk) 12:23, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

History

It is a good, though brief, overview of the firm's history. However, the name Bravo appears without explanation, and only later says who Bravo is. Every partner, other than Bravo, was introduced when joining the firm. Dkelber (talk) 15:21, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

Edit request

Hi, I work for Thoma Bravo and would like to suggest several changes to this article, most in the interest of factual accuracy and updating financial information.

1. Infobox:
   • Title: Change LLC to LP (source)
   • Type: Change "Limited liability company" to "Limited partnership" (same source as above)
   • Founders: Remove Lee Mitchell and Scott Crabill (source)
   • Products: Add "private credit funds" (source)
   • AUM: Update to US$70 billion
   • Number of employees: Update to 110
2. Remove the historical "Thoma Cressey Equitable Partners" logo, as it's superfluous and confusing, and doesn't add any value to the article for the reader.

 Partly done I decided to leave the historical logo. P,TO 19104 (talk) (contribs) 01:50, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

1. Lead section:
   • First paragraph: The company has no headquarters, only an office in San Francisco and an office in Chicago. So please change the lead sentence to "Thoma Bravo, LP, is an American private equity and growth capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Chicago.
   • Second paragraph: Update the first sentence as follows: Thoma Bravo has done 260 software deals worth approximately $78 billion since 2003 and oversees a portfolio of about 40 software companies that generate some $15 billion in annual revenue and employ 45,000 people.
   • Second paragraph: Update the third sentence as follows: In October 2020, Thoma Bravo was managing private equity funds representing over $70 billion in equity commitments.
2. History:
   • Fifth paragraph: Remove the sentence starting with "Led by managing partners..." as this is covered in the Operations section.
   • Fifth paragraph: Remove the sentence about the acquisition of Frontline Education, as there is nothing unique about this particular acquisition among hundreds of similar deals that justifies inclusion in the History section.
   • Add a sixth paragraph: "In October 2020, Thoma Bravo raised $17.8 billion for its 14th fund, setting a fundraising record for a tech-focused buyout fund."
3. Operations:
   • First sentence: Add "Seth Boro" to the list of managing partners.
   • Second sentence: Add "cybersecurity" to the first part of the sentence: "Thoma Bravo focuses on application, infrastructure and cybersecurity software..."
4. Investment funds:
   • Update the second sentence to: Since Thoma Bravo’s establishment in 2008, it has raised 14 flagship private equity funds, its third Discover midmarket focused fund and its Explore Fund targeting small technology businesses.
   • Add 5 funds to the table that were raised since 2018. The new table should look like this:

Fund	Founded	Committed Capital ($m)
Fund XIV	2020	$17,800
Discover Fund III	2020	$3,900
Explore Fund	2020	$1,100
Fund XIII	2018	$12,600
Discover Fund II	2018	$2,400
Fund XII	2016	$7,600
Discover Fund	2015	$1,074
Special Opportunities Fund II	2015	$1,065
Fund XI	2014	$3,650
Special Opportunities Fund	2013	$ 418.4
Fund X	2011	$1,250
Fund IX	2008	$ 822.5

Section 4:  Done P,TO 19104 (talk) (contribs) 01:55, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

References

Thank you! MfrankTB (talk) 20:17, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

Following up on the above edit request 4.5 months later, it looks like P,TO 19104 responded to part of the request (updated the infobox, the first paragraph of the lead section and the "Investment funds" section), but left the rest for other editors to handle. And then HeartatSchool closed the request prematurely, before anyone got a chance to evaluate the remainder of the request. Can someone please assess and implement the rest of the request, which has been sitting mostly unanswered since mid-November?

Since the above two editors appear to be on breaks from editing, I will ping two more editors who have made recent edits to the article: Possibly and Flagrant hysterical curious. Thank you! MfrankTB (talk) 16:20, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

I'm sure it will get done eventually. Why don't you try contributing some edits to other subjects? --- Possibly (talk) 16:25, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Updates to the article

Hi, I work for Thoma Bravo and would like to suggest some updates to the article:

1. In the lead sentence, add New York City and London to the listed office locations. No need to add a new source, as the existing reference supports this addition. Similarly, change the "Number of locations" field in the infobox from 3 to 5.
2. In the second sentence of the article, change "acquiring software companies" to the more precise "acquiring enterprise software companies."
3. In the infobox, update the number of employees from "110 (2020)" to "200 (2023)"
4. Also in the infobox, update the AUM from "US$120 billion (2022)" to "US$130 billion (2023)"
5. At the end of the History section, add the following sentence: In December 2022, the company raised $32.4 billion over three funds, including $24.3 billion for Thoma Bravo Fund XV, the most an independent private equity firm has ever raised for a technology-focused buyout fund.

I appreciate any input from the community.

References

Thank you! JBarTB (talk) 14:02, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

 Done. Hello @JBarTB, I used a different source to update the number of employees, since The Information reference you provided doesn't explicitly state the associated "as of" date. I've also moved the locations out of the opening sentence in the lead paragraph. By the way, please use the {{edit COI}} template for future requests, so it gets the attention of other reviewers. Ptrnext (talk) 05:48, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Next few requests

I'd like to request the following few updates:

1. In the first sentence of the Investments section, please update the number of software deals from "over 300" to "over 440" and the number of software companies in Thoma Bravo's portfolio from "over 40" to "over 70"
2. In the History section, please add the following sentence between the current fourth and fifth paragraphs: In 2017, the firm launched a private credit platform, which focuses on investments in software and technology companies.
3. In the "See also" section, please add a bullet point link to the Bravo Family Foundation, which was established by Thoma Bravo managing partner and founder Orlando Bravo.

References

Ptrnext, I appreciated your consideration of my previous request. Would you mind taking a look at this one as well?

Thank you! JBarTB (talk) 16:15, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

Reply 30-OCT-2023

  Edit request partially implemented  

1. Y The numbers of the software deals and software companies were increased as requested.
2. N The information on the private credit platform was not added.
3. Y The Wikilinked-item was added to the See also section.

• Additional changes made:

1. Promotional phrasing the French business school HEC Paris, in conjunction with Dow Jones, named Thoma Bravo, the best-performing buyout investor and ....the most an independent private equity firm has ever raised for a technology-focused buyout fund and "one of the most active acquirers of software companies in the world" were all omitted, while non-notable accolades In June 2023, Thoma Bravo were ranked fourth in Private Equity International's PEI 300 ranking of the largest private equity firms in the world were also omitted.
2. Redundant information In October, it agreed to buy ForgeRock for $2.3 billion in an all-cash deal. followed by "In August 2023, it was announced the acquisition of ForgeRock had been completed." -- this was limited to one mentioning only.
3. Non-pertinent information was omitted "SailPoint specializes in providing secure access to"

Notes

Regards,  Spintendo  03:28, 31 October 2023 (UTC)

@Spintendo: Thanks for responding. I'd like to clarify the proposed sentence about the company's private credit funds. This is basic, encyclopedic information about the company, not a trivial event in the company's history. Private credit funds are one of the two basic types of funds that Thoma Bravo manages (the other type being private equity funds), but this is not currently mentioned anywhere in the article apart from the Products field of the infobox. So it is important that this be mentioned in some capacity within the article's body - if it works better in a different section rather than History, that would be fine as well. (Here is another reliable source that demonstrates the significance of the company's involvement in private credit: Private Equity International

Secondly, much of the content you refer to as promotional phrasing is derived directly from reliable sources that describe the company using the same kind of superlatives. The very premise of the FT article titled "Buyout firm Thoma Bravo goes from niche to big league" is that Thoma Bravo was experiencing a noteworthy level of growth, so it should be appropriate for Wikipedia to reflect this with lines sourced to that article like "the fastest-growing major buyout firm" and "taken more multi-billion dollar public companies private in the past year than any other buyout firm." Similarly, the line about the fundraising from 2022 is derived from a Wall Street Journal article titled "Thoma Bravo Bags $32.4 Billion Including Largest Technology Buyout Fund" - where the premise is that this wasn't just a routine fundraising round, but rather a noteworthy event because it set a private equity record. You singled out "the most an independent private equity firm has ever raised for a technology-focused buyout fund" as promotional, but this detail is the very reason the WSJ considered the fundraising especially noteworthy. I would greatly appreciate you reconsidering some of these removals.

Thank you! JBarTB (talk) 00:39, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

@JBarTB: Thank you for your reply. The claim is In 2017, the firm launched a private credit platform. That indicates the firm was in business before the platform was launched, which suggests that the listing of this information is not life or death for the company if it were omitted — for surely the company conducted enough of its other "non-trivial" businesses before 2017 that the company was able to maintain itself in working order without the platform. The lack of a description for this sector of their business does not, and would not, paint the company in such extreme colors as to be unrecognizable for readers as your reply suggests it would. With regards to the grandiloquent phrasing used by, as you indicated, the WSJ — they have their editorial guidelines, and we have ours. Ours states that promotional words and phrases are to be avoided. We can use those sources, but in doing so, we needn't adopt their hyperbole. I would suggest rephrasing much of the content to allow for a bare-bones, stripped down recital of the main facts, taking care to leave out MOS:AWW claims such as "the most..." or "the largest..." etc, as well as dispensing with any mention of monetary figures (outside of where those figures would ordinarily be more appropriate to place, such as the infobox). Regards,  Spintendo  22:42, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

Spintendo, thank you for clarifying. If I may help provide additional context, Thoma Bravo has evolved to manage several types of fund strategies including private equity buyout and private credit funds. I'm hoping you agree that at the point in history at which the firm began to implement a private credit fund strategy is certainly encyclopedic content that improves the article.

Secondly, while some of the content you removed may have been hyperbolic, much of it was not:

• The phrase you removed, "In 2021 it was the fastest growing major buyout firm," is not hyperbole, but rather a plain fact, based on data and reported on in a reliable source. See FT: "The fastest-growing of all the major buyout firms, its $91bn in assets are greater than the private equity giant Blackstone's $88bn when it went public in 2007."
• In the same vein, another well-sourced section you removed provides relevant and noteworthy information about the company: "In December 2021, it was reported that Thoma Bravo had taken more multi-billion dollar public companies private in the past year than any other buyout firm. At the same time, company executives sought to raise $35 billion for more acquisitions. In December 2022, the company raised $32.4 billion over three funds, including $24.3 billion for Thoma Bravo Fund XV, the most an independent private equity firm has ever raised for a technology-focused buyout firm." This is a clear report on facts and numbers, with no editorializing or exaggeration. If you feel that removing some of the monetary figures is necessary, perhaps you will consider restoring the following language:

In December 2021, it was reported that Thoma Bravo had taken more multi-billion dollar public companies private in the past year than any other buyout firm. In December 2022, the company raised $24.3 billion for Thoma Bravo Fund XV, the most an independent private equity firm has ever raised for a technology-focused buyout fund.

• Finally, while the line, "Called by the Financial Times 'one of the most active acquirers of software companies in the world,' may be subjective, it is hardly "grandiloquent" or "hyperbole," and it is an important point that distinguishes Thoma Bravo from other companies.

Pinging HouseBlaster as well in an effort to centralize discussions. As per our discussion, here is a cached version of the Private Debt Investor article that supports the point about private credit. For good measure, here is a Wall Street Journal source for additional support. I will also note that I agree with your characterization of the line about Orlando Bravo as WP:COATRACK and am not suggesting it should be restored. I appreciate your perspective here and welcome you to weigh in further.

References

Thanks, JBarTB (talk) 18:56, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

@JBarTB: hi! I think I have to agree with Spintendo the first and third removal removals. In 2021 it was the fastest growing major buyout firm is a fact, but I do not believe including it would be due weight to include it. Likewise, it is not Wikipedia's job to distinguish[] Thoma Bravo from other companies. However, I have added the detail about the private credit platform, and added information about the 14th and 15th funds. (These were your second requests in the original post and your most recent message, respectively.) Pinging @Spintendo and JBarTB. Best, HouseBlaster (talk · he/him) 04:12, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

HouseBlaster, thank you for your help with those additions! JBarTB (talk) 15:14, 22 January 2024 (UTC)