Thoma Bravo seeks $1bn for second credit fund following successful debut

Thoma Bravo is already back in market with its second private debt fund, having capped a successful raise for its first fund earlier this year.

The San Francisco- and Chicago-based firm is seeking $1 billion for Thoma Bravo Credit Fund II, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing.

The alternative asset manager, which hit its $750 million target for Fund I, deployed capital faster than expected for its debut vehicle, according to a person familiar with the matter. Investors in the fund included the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, which committed $50 million, and Taiwan Life Insurance Company, which allocated $25 million.

Many of the investors in Fund I were new to the firm, the source said. The fund charges a 1.5 percent management fee and a 20 percent carried interest fee, according to its registration with the SEC.

Thoma Bravo did not provide comment by press time.

The firm primarily makes passive debt investments, never holding more than half the credit, to companies in which its equity funds are investing, according to the SEC document. This included backing the acquisition of Coastal Flow Measurement. However, the fund will also purchase debt on the secondary markets and lend to non-Thoma Bravo-owned companies.

Jack Le Roy, a veteran of the debt businesses of Summit Partners and Guggenheim Partners, joined Thoma Bravo in August 2017. The firm has since hired several junior investment professionals to work on the credit team.

Earlier this year, the firm announced a final close of $12.6 billion, which was the hard-cap for its latest flagship vehicle, Thoma Bravo Fund XIII. The firm oversees $38.91 billion in assets.