Interview with Saniya Jamil, Senior Director at Thoma Bravo (extract from BFM Business, 30/10)

In this presentation, Saniya Jamil introduces Thoma Bravo, one of the world’s leading private equity firms specializing in software. The firm focuses its strategy on mission-critical enterprise software, particularly B2B SaaS providers, adopting a majority-ownership investment approach and maintaining a strong alignment of interests with management teams.Thoma Bravo targets innovative companies that are market leaders but whose profitability potential has not yet been fully optimized. The goal is to significantly improve their profitability without sacrificing growth, thanks to deep industry expertise and proven operational methods. The B2B software market is presented as a rapidly expanding sector, driven by digital transformation, the cloud, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. The SaaS model enhances the attractiveness of these companies through recurring revenue, greater contractual visibility, and lower upfront costs for customers.Software publishers are highly attractive to investors due to their fundamentals: high growth, significant gross margins, stable revenues, and numerous levers for operational improvement. This combination makes it a sector particularly well-suited to private equity. Saniya Jamil also highlights the growing interest of industrial companies in software firms. Many companies are seeking to boost their growth, revenue quality, and digital exposure through strategic acquisitions. The examples of Adenza, sold to Nasdaq, and Imperva, sold to Thales, illustrate this trend. Finally, Thoma Bravo relies on a diversified base of institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices.