Orlando Bravo at the Thoma Bravo office in Miami.
Photographer: Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg
Billionaires
For Billionaire Orlando Bravo, There’s No Bad Time to Do a Good Deal
As Thoma Bravo finishes raising its latest buyout fund, it’s already finding acquisitions amid the market chaos.
Orlando Bravo’s second-biggest deal ever started with him writing a letter. Last year, the co-founder of private equity firm Thoma Bravo wrote to Boeing Co.’s top executives with a proposal: if they started a process to sell the company’s flight navigation unit, Thoma Bravo would be ready with a bid.
Making the first move worked out. Last week, Boeing announced the sale of its Jeppesen unit and other digital assets for $10.6 billion. The winning bidder among at least a dozen suitors? Thoma Bravo.