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Will Thoma Bravo join Musk in bid for Twitter? And why THL merged portfolio companies

Good morning, Hubsters. Happy Friday. MK Flynn here with today’s Wire.

Was greed ever good? The twists and turns in Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid for Twitter are must-see TV for anyone interested in M&A. Even the language, reminiscent of Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko, is compelling, with all the talk of poison pills and white knights.

Yesterday, Musk showed how serious he is about buying the social media platform, outlining his plans to fund the $43 billion bid, including more than $25 billion in debt from a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Barclays.

If Twitter’s board initially thought the move “was just a stunt, it has now found itself on the defensive on multiple fronts,” Financial Times says this morning.

Private equity groups are reportedly considering participating in the Tesla founder’s deal – or perhaps bidding on their own.

Thoma Bravo is rumored to be among them. The firm “believes the platform has been undermanaged and has untapped growth potential, according to a source with knowledge of its thinking,” says the FT. The tech-focused firm “has begun talking with Musk about participating in his takeover effort, said the source, which could help the bid gain traction by attracting additional debt and equity financing from institutional investors, according to multiple prominent lenders.”

 “Thoma Bravo doesn’t comment on market rumors or speculation,” a spokesperson for the firm responded to my email query this morning.

We’ll keep watching!

Need for speed. Earlier in the week, Thomas H. Lee Partners announced the merger its two portfolio companies MHS Global and Fortna, each bringing unique skillsets in automating the supply chain. PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti Obey spoke with THL managing partner Mike Kaczmarek.

Read the whole story here.

Also see Obey’s story on how private equity firms are investing in the increasingly local supply chain.

Cash-strapped LPs. Blackstone, which set a $150 billion target for a next round of flagship fundraising, does not expect cash-strapped limited partners to impede its progress, writes Buyouts’ Kirk Falconer.

Weekend reading. Check out my Q&A with Randy Schwimmer, co-head of senior lending at Churchill Asset Management and founder and publisher of The Lead Left. He shares results of a new survey and explains why private debt is more attractive than ever.

On that note, I’ll wish everyone a happy weekend!

Cheers,

MK

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Seen and heard at Private Equity International’s Investor Relations, Marketing & Communications Forum: The end of the rapid fundraising era, dealing with LP rejection and an overreliance on performance as a selling point were some of the themes that emerged in a jam-packed two days in New York.

Europe is the place to avoid. That was the view, which we reported last week, of longstanding limited partner Tom Tull as he said that global turbulence marked a good time to carefully evaluate the weighting of geographic exposures. He was not the only person on stage at our APAC Forum to make the argument that Asia-Pacific looks a relatively attractive proposition for private debt. (Private Debt Investor)