Thoma Bravo has announced the launch of its first Europe-focused fund. It wil (somewhat unsurprisingly) be called the Thoma Bravo Europe Fund, with a total capital investment of approximately €1.8 billion.
The Europe Fund focuses on equity investments in innovative mid-sized software companies within the main European software markets. The goal is to support founders, entrepreneurs and management teams in scaling their companies into leading players in the European industry.
Huge opportunities
According to Orlando Bravo, co-founder and Managing Partner of Thoma Bravo, this first capital fund specifically for European software companies is important for his company. He emphasizes that there is a huge opportunity to support European technology innovators and help them grow.
Irina Hemmers, Partner at Thoma Bravo and head of the European office, added that the completion of the first Europe Fund is an important opportunity to strengthen the presence in the region. Europe is rapidly digitizing, and leading software companies are increasingly seeking targeted support and investment to accelerate their growth strategies, Hemmers believes.
Thoma Bravo has been investing in Europe for 14 years. It invested more than 14 billion euros in 16 transactions in the region. Since opening its first international office in London in 2023, the European team has made four investments in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, including the €400 million acquisition of EQS Group and growth capital for USU, Hypergene and LOGEX. Last year, Thoma Bravo made headlines for its $5.3 billion investment in British cybersecurity specialist Darktrace.
Room for venture capital in Europe
Europe has no shortage of local venture capital funds. Consider Atomico and Cherry Ventures, which closed early- and growth-stage funds in recent months. What is clear, however, is that North American investment firms are slowly withdrawing from Europe. For example, renowned Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz recently closed its U.K. office. This while Omers Ventures and Coatue also closed their offices in the region over the past 18 months.
This creates a gap that private equities looking for favorable investment deals can fill. Thoma Bravo appears to be taking advantage of this.
Also read: Why Thoma Bravo almost always places the right bets on tech