It’s been a busy two years for Oliver Thym since he took over as head of the Thoma Bravo credit platform. This week, the manager’s recent efforts came to fruition, as the firm closed on its $3.3 billion Credit Fund II, more than three times its target when leverage is included.
Thym discussed the manager’s take on the fundraise with Private Debt Investor, which we reported earlier.
He told PDI that Thoma Bravo Credit Fund II is already approximately 70 percent invested, and explained the advantages of the software and technology companies in which the fund invests. “We always knew these were the best companies to invest in,” Thym said. “The downturn during covid only proved that.”
Parent company Thoma Bravo has a very long track record of investing in the space, and that focus enhances the credit platform’s ability to identify the most attractive opportunities, Thym said, noting that the platform invests in fewer than 2 percent of the deals it sources.
Among the attractions to the sector are contractual recurring revenues, high profitability and very strong free cashflow conversion. “Cash is king, and these companies are much more cashflow-generative than the market,” Thym said. Because they are “mission critical”, tech companies are more resilient and more resistant to what appear to be rising risks of a recession.
And because these companies are “productivity-enhancing tools”, they are part of a solution to the challenges presented by supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation, he said.
“There’s been a dramatic shift over the past few years,” Thym noted. “Software used to be just a tool for companies; today, software has become integral to companies’ survival.”
Thym sees increased volatility in the capital markets caused by geopolitical events, rising inflation and Fed policy as an opportunity for his platform to further differentiate itself. “We provide price certainty, speed and confidentiality,” he said.
The credit platform has collectively invested $6 billion since its inception in 2017, with a record deployment in 2021 of more than $2 billion into 39 unique portfolio companies across the platform.
Thoma Bravo had more than $103 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2021. It has offices in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco.
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