The following article, by Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Holden Spaht, was first published in Institutional Investor.

Call it the “software big leagues.” The deals are bigger — measuring into the billions. The stakes are higher — successful acquisitions can reshape entire sectors. And the players are more ambitious — strategic buyers want to supercharge innovation, growth, and profitability by acquiring software firms that can bring all three at once.

It would be a mistake to let short-term market fluctuations distract from these secular trends. The pandemic caused a bubble in SaaS valuations in 2021, distorting the baseline for recent comparisons. In 2024, SaaS revenue growth has moderated, as customers deal with macroeconomic uncertainty and how to navigate the shift to AI tools and products (many of which, of course, will be built and delivered by SaaS businesses). These are just ripples on the wave that has been building for decades.

Read the full story on InstitutionalInvestor.com here.