Thoma Bravo and the plan for Vivian Health; TA invests in talent acquisition platform

Happy Monday!

Thoma Bravo recently invested $60 million in Vivian Health, and the tech-focused private equity firm has big plans for the healthcare employer-employee matchmaking software developer. PE Hub reached out to Christine Kang, principal on the growth team at Thoma Bravo, to learn more.

The healthcare sector spends trillions of dollars on labor every year. Attracting and retaining talent for both in-person treatment and telehealth are enormous challenges for the industry. Structural shortages and a dearth of technology hold the sector back when it comes to employment.

Thoma Bravo’s investment in Vivian leverages the digital transformation underway in the sector to enable more efficient staffing and workforce management.

There are two approaches, Kang explained. One uses software to automate the end-to-end recruiting process; and the other uses an online marketplace in which employees and employers come together, and software matches supply and demand. Vivian falls under the second approach. Read more here on PE Hub.

Talent: TA invested in iCIMS, which provides cloud-based talent acquisition services. The firm is investing alongside existing investor Vista Equity and will have equal ownership. Vista first invested in iCIMS in 2018. Susquehanna Growth, which first invested in the company in 2012 and made an additional investment in 2015, will continue to be a shareholder. Read more here.

Non-public: New York State Teachers’ Retirement System chose an internal, non-public process to hire an adviser to help it run a billion-dollar secondaries sale process, which it felt was in the best interest of beneficiaries and other constituents.

The system is out of step with other large public systems in the US, several of which have held RFP processes to hire secondaries advisers. Such contract awards should always be as transparent as possible, with multiple bidders and input from the public. Open processes ensure that all constituents have an understanding of the work taking place and the costs involved.

But some public pension systems seem to think any sunlight allowed on their private equity decision-making processes would cause irreparable damage to their reputations and/or their ability to continue investing in the asset class. It’s never made much sense to me. Read more here on Buyouts.

Have a great day! Hit me up with tips n’ gossip, feedback or book recs at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com or find me on LinkedIn.