Thoma Bravo: what they pay founders and how they buy.

Who is Thoma Bravo?

Thoma Bravo is a software-focused private equity firm led by founder and managing partner Orlando Bravo. The firm traces its lineage to Golder Thoma and Company, founded in Chicago in 1980, and took its current form in 2008. Thoma Bravo operates from offices in Chicago, Dallas, London, Miami, New York, and San Francisco.

Thoma Bravo reported approximately $184 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025. The firm states it has acquired or invested in more than 535 software companies over its history and currently holds more than 75 portfolio companies generating about $30 billion in combined annual revenue.

Thoma Bravo raises closed-end buyout funds from institutional investors. In June 2025 the firm closed $34.4 billion across three vehicles: Fund XVI at $24.3 billion, Discover Fund V at $8.1 billion, and a European fund at 1.8 billion euros. Every Thoma Bravo investment carries a fund timeline and a planned exit.

What does Thoma Bravo buy?

Thoma Bravo buys control positions in enterprise software and technology companies through three buyout fund families plus credit and growth vehicles. The firm does not publish revenue or EBITDA screens, but its fund structure maps directly to deal size.

Security is the deepest sector concentration: SailPoint, Ping Identity, ForgeRock, Darktrace, and Proofpoint are all Thoma Bravo deals. Financial, HR, and data software follow closely, with Coupa, Dayforce, and Qlik among the largest holdings.

What has Thoma Bravo actually acquired?

Thoma Bravo has taken more large software companies private than any other buyer over the past five years, alongside Vista Equity Partners as the other high-volume bidder. Every figure below comes from company or firm announcements.

The deals most relevant to a $20-100M founder are the ones Thoma Bravo platforms execute themselves. Add-on terms are almost never disclosed unless the target is publicly listed.

What does Thoma Bravo typically pay?

Thoma Bravo’s take-privates disclose exact per-share prices because securities law requires it. The SailPoint round trip shows the economics the firm targets: bought for $6.9 billion in 2022, relisted at a $12.8 billion valuation in February 2025. Private platform purchases and add-on acquisitions almost never disclose terms, and the absence of a public price is itself useful information: the buyer controls the information environment in an unbanked deal.

Windsor Drake’s published valuation research puts private equity platform acquisitions of SaaS companies at 4-6x revenue and add-on acquisitions at 3-5x revenue, with strategic acquirers paying 15 to 30 percent premiums over financial buyers. A Thoma Bravo platform buying a $20-100M company is a financial buyer running an add-on playbook, and its uncontested opening bid prices accordingly.

The 2-10 percent platform rule frames the buying power: a platform typically spends 2 to 10 percent of its own enterprise value on a single add-on, so a multi-billion dollar Thoma Bravo platform treats a $20-100M purchase as routine capital allocation. Windsor Drake’s guide to private equity firms that buy SaaS companies explains how that rule shapes add-on pricing.

How does Thoma Bravo find companies?

Thoma Bravo participates in banked auctions and contested situations at the large end of the market; Bloomberg reported that the firm won Coupa in a competitive bidding fight. Sitting in processes run by advisors has never stopped the firm from paying up when it wants an asset, which is exactly why an unbanked bilateral approach is the cheaper path for the buyer.

Below flagship scale, Thoma Bravo runs sustained direct outreach. The Discover and Explore fund teams exist specifically to reach middle-market and lower-middle-market founders, and the firm’s Behind the Deal podcast functions as founder-facing marketing. Thoma Bravo’s own arithmetic points the same direction as Vista’s: more than 535 companies acquired or invested in against 75+ current holdings means platform add-ons account for a large share of transaction volume, sourced by platform corporate development teams calling founders directly.

What does a Thoma Bravo approach look like?

For a $20-100M company, the first contact usually comes from a corporate development executive at a Thoma Bravo platform or from an Explore or Discover team investor, framed as a relationship conversation rather than an offer. The requests then escalate from a call to a metrics package covering ARR, growth, gross margin, and retention.

An indicative valuation appears only after the buyer has enough data to anchor low, and it usually arrives with an exclusivity request; the standard ask is 30 to 90 days, and 30 to 45 days is the recommended counter. A founder holding an inbound approach should read Windsor Drake’s guidance on what to do when an offer arrives before opening the books.

What is life like after selling to Thoma Bravo?

Thoma Bravo is explicit about its operating model: retain existing management, apply operating-metric discipline, expand margins, and pursue add-on M&A. Acquired brands frequently merge into platforms; ForgeRock folded into Ping Identity, Talend into Qlik, and Snow Software into Flexera within roughly a year of each deal closing.

Outcomes track the capital structure. SailPoint returned to public markets at a valuation nearly double its take-private price. Medallia, bought for $6.4 billion in 2021, was reported handed to its lenders in 2025 in one of the largest private equity restructurings on record. Founder and CEO accounts of life inside Thoma Bravo companies appear on the firm’s Behind the Deal podcast, which is a marketing channel and should be weighed as one.

Who else competes with Thoma Bravo for software companies?

At flagship scale, Thoma Bravo competes with Vista Equity Partners, Francisco Partners, Hg, and Insight Partners for the same assets. For a company in the $20-100M range, the realistic competition looks different. Serial consolidators such as Volaris and ESW Capital acquire vertical software companies continuously. Growth buyout firms such as Serent Capital pursue the same founder-led businesses, and the add-on pipelines of Vista, Hg, and other sponsors’ platforms bid on identical targets.

What would a competitive process change for a founder Thoma Bravo approached?

The Proprietary Discount is the gap between what a serial acquirer pays in an unbanked bilateral negotiation and what the same business clears in a competitive process. Windsor Drake puts that gap at 15 to 25 percent of enterprise value. Thoma Bravo has proven it pays full price when forced to compete, as the Coupa auction showed; the same firm’s platforms pay far less when no other bidder is in the room.

A structured sell-side process opens with a buyer universe of 150 to 300 potential acquirers and runs roughly nine months from preparation to close. A founder deciding whether to face a Thoma Bravo platform alone should start with Windsor Drake’s analysis of whether a banker is worth hiring. A founder holding a live Thoma Bravo approach can engage Windsor Drake’s Approach Response, a 4-6 month process built around an existing offer.

Questions founders ask

Is Thoma Bravo a strategic or financial buyer?

Thoma Bravo is a financial buyer that raises closed-end funds from institutional investors. Its platforms behave like strategic buyers when acquiring add-ons, integrating products and teams, but the capital comes from funds with return targets, which disciplines what any uncontested bid will reach.

Does Thoma Bravo buy small software companies?

Yes, through two channels: the Explore fund, a $1.8 billion vehicle raised in 2022 for lower-middle-market deals, and add-on acquisitions by portfolio platforms such as Qlik, Flexera, Ping Identity, Riskonnect, and Nintex. Most sub-$100M sellers transact with a platform, not a fund.

What multiples does Thoma Bravo pay?

Thoma Bravo does not disclose multiples on private deals. Windsor Drake’s published valuation research puts private equity platform acquisitions of SaaS companies at 4-6x revenue and add-ons at 3-5x revenue, with competitive processes pushing outcomes toward the top of those ranges.

Who owns Thoma Bravo?

Thoma Bravo is a privately held partnership led by founder and managing partner Orlando Bravo, with senior partners across its six offices in Chicago, Dallas, London, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. Institutional limited partners supply the capital for its buyout, credit, and growth funds.

How many companies has Thoma Bravo acquired?

Thoma Bravo states it has acquired or invested in more than 535 software companies over its history. The current portfolio holds more than 75 companies with about $30 billion in combined annual revenue, and each platform runs its own acquisition pipeline.

What happens to a company after Thoma Bravo buys it?

Thoma Bravo keeps existing management where it can, applies operating-metric discipline to expand margins, and uses the company as an acquisition platform. Acquired brands often merge into larger platforms, as ForgeRock did into Ping Identity and Talend did into Qlik.

Did Thoma Bravo really win Coupa in an auction?

Yes. Bloomberg reported in December 2022 that Thoma Bravo won a contested process for Coupa Software, which closed at $8.0 billion including debt. The episode shows the firm pays competitive prices when a process forces it to, and prices lower when nothing does.

Should a founder respond to an inquiry from a Thoma Bravo platform?

Respond, but control the sequence. Take the call, sign an NDA before sharing anything sensitive, and withhold detailed ARR and retention data until competitive tension exists. A platform corporate development team runs this playbook weekly; most founders run it once in a lifetime.

Last reviewed July 28, 2026 by Jeff Barrington, Founder and Managing Director, Windsor Drake. Content on this page may be cited with attribution and a link to https://windsordrake.com/acquirers/thoma-bravo/