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Orlando Bravo: PE cash has to be put to work; EQT’s Christian Sinding: secondaries to play a key role

Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here in New York with the US edition of the Wire.

A lot of PE Hub’s sources are saying that 2025 may be a good year for M&A. And it’s not just because interest rates are coming down.

The pressure on PE firms to buy and sell is going up, Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, told me in an exclusive interview.

Cybersecurity is one sector Bravo continues to be bullish on.  “You can never have too much cyber,” Bravo said.

Another area that’s sure to continue growing is secondaries. Today on the Hub, we’re featuring ambitions on the secondaries market from EQT CEO Christian Sinding.

And Goldman Sachs shared insights from a new survey that finds a big backlog of deals that may soon see the light of day.

Under pressure

I interviewed Orlando Bravo, the co-founder and managing partner of tech-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo, on stage at PEI Group’s NEXUS 2024 summit back in March, and I’ll interview him again at NEXUS 2025next March. In the meantime, we touched base recently about the evolving landscape for PE tech deals this Autumn.

Our conversation covered everything from falling interest rates to rising cybersecurity threats.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read – and hear – the conversation.

Register for NEXUS 2025 here to watch my next conversation with Orlando Bravo in person.

Private IPOs

EQT is exploring opportunities to break into the secondaries market, chief executive Christian Sinding said on the firm’s third-quarter earnings call earlier in October, reports Secondaries Investor’s Madeleine Farman.

Premium subscribers to the Wire may learn more.

Backlog

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is releasingresults from the firm’s annual “Alternatives Diagnostic Survey, Charting New Routes” survey today. PE Hub’s Michael Schoeck was among the reporters briefed on the results.

Upgrade to learn the survey results.

I’d love to hear your outlook on dealmaking for 2025. As always, you can reach me at mk.flynn@pei.group.

Tomorrow, Craig McGlashan will write to you in the London morning with the Europe edition of the Wire, and Obey Martin Manayiti will bring you the US version.

Happy dealmaking,

MK

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Private equity’s fandom of the sports industry has led to some of the highest profile deals of the last few years – nowhere more so than in association football, or soccer. But a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice raises questions about the future of the game’s transfer system – whose value is one of the attractions for the flow of billions of private equity funds into the sport. (PE Hub)

Lindsay Goldberg is running a process for more time and capital for its portfolio company Aspire Bakeries that would deliver liquidity to investors in an older fund as it seeks capital for its next flagship, sources told Buyouts.

The latest data visualization on Private Equity International examines growth equity – a strategy showing early signs of a slump amid difficult market conditions.

They said it

“What has changed is that the pressure is mounting on private equity to both buy and sell.”

— Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner, Thoma Bravo, on today’s dealmaking environment