economy

Orlando Bravo pushes back on private markets criticism: 'Everybody's extremely comfortable'

Bravo said deep sector expertise is separating winners from losers as artificial intelligence creates disruption across the software industry.

Orlando Bravo pushes back on private markets criticism: 'Everybody's extremely comfortable'

TL;DR

  • Orlando Bravo argues that specialized knowledge in private equity separates successful firms from others, especially amidst AI-driven disruption in the software sector.
  • He defends Thoma Bravo's approach, emphasizing detailed company knowledge over high-level stock investing and expressing confidence in their private credit book.
  • Bravo acknowledges overpaying for Medallia but states that investors have been aware of this for years and that the rest of the firm's 77 companies are performing strongly.
  • He differentiates between private equity-owned software companies and publicly traded ones, suggesting many public software firms facing AI disruption were already vulnerable.
  • Thoma Bravo's investor base, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, remains confident due to the firm's performance history and transparency.