Let’s talk events for a moment. Apple’s WWDC launches today, as does Pax8’s Beyond. I will cover them later in the week – I want time to go through the stories and do a better analysis.
Last week was ConnectWise’s IT Nation Secure, which I thought I was done covering… until I spotted two stories I wanted to cover.
First, CRN did the inevitable “Is ConnectWise selling or going public” story, which, as always, got the same answer of no answer. Usually, I wouldn’t cover it, as there’s no information there….
But it becomes interesting when paired with a second story. Bloomberg reported that Thoma Bravo is considering raising $3.5 billion in private debt financing for ConnectWise, an automated professional services provider. The funds will be used to refinance existing debt and for an acquisition. Thoma Bravo is also in talks with banks for additional funds.
There’s always a “Will connectwise sell or go public” story around their events because it gets clicks. But it’s missing the third possibility – that they continue to be a platform.
I’ll offer a theory– we know N-Able is looking to go private. A war chest of $3.5 billion when the company is valued at $2.5 billion means it would do the trick. ConnectWise in investing in their new platform, Asio, and N-able needs to. Solid match.
Disclosure, I’m an N-Able shareholder.
Note that the IPO market for tech has cooled, as I reported in the previous story. The likelihood of ConnectWise pushing to IPO is down generally.. but that doesn’t mean that the investors won’t find other ways to extract value. That’s not in the cards, everyone.