Private equity firm Thoma Bravo to acquire software firm Calabrio from KKR in $1 billion deal

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo LP said on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire workplace software firm Calabrio Inc from KKR & Co Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but people familiar with the matter said the deal values Calabrio at more than $1 billion, including debt. KKR paid $200 million to acquire Calabrio in 2016.

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Calabrio provides a cloud-based software that allows companies like Netflix Inc and Shopify Inc track and analyze customer service data generated from their contact centers.

Calabrio grew its recurring revenue to nearly 80% of total revenue, up from just 30% about four years ago when it was acquired by KKR, Thomas Goodmanson, its chief executive officer said in an interview.

The increase has in part been driven by the shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has really shifted a focus to the cloud, in our industry where we help companies take care of their customers, they had to send their contact center agents home and our software was in a perfect place to help them,” Goodmanson said.

Thoma Bravo is one the largest software-focused private equity firms with $77 billion in assets under management. Its portfolio companies include information technology services provider SolarWinds Corp and cybersecurity firm McAfee Corp.