TA Associates
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TA is what you get when a 50+ year old growth equity shop decides it wants to be taken seriously as a buyout player too. AGC Partners ranks TA as #1 most active tech private equity investor and they've got the deal volume to prove it - but that's both a strength and a red flag. The good: they're legitimate operators with deep sector expertise, solid returns, and extremely low turnover with 50%+ senior members promoted from Associate level. The challenge: In 2014, TA helped organize a syndicated loan worth $1.77 billion for Millennium Health LLC, channeled back $1.27 billion in special dividends to themselves and others, then Millennium declared bankruptcy and faced racketeering lawsuits. They've moved past this, but it shows they can be aggressive with portfolio company capital structures. They call themselves 'growth private equity' instead of growth equity and sourcing at associate level is less than some competitors - translation: you'll do real investing work, not just cold-calling all day.
- —Best for: Enterprise software founders who want sector expertise and aren't afraid of majority deals
- —Watch out for: Aggressive capital structures - they've extracted hefty dividends before
- —Known for: Being the most active tech PE investor with genuine operational chops and low turnover
TA Associates is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. With a broad mandate, we have worked with companies that provide information services, distribution and procurement services, risk management, outsourcing and specialty ingredients... Building on our 40 years of experience investing in technology companies, we have become one of the most active private equity investors in the software sector. With a focus on mission-critical enterprise software, our investments span vertical and horizontal applications, systems and security. Our equity investments can range from $100-$600 million, in transactions that value businesses generally from $150 million to over $3 billion.
Growth equity focused on profitable companies doing $150M-$3B+ deals. Heavy on tech (especially enterprise software), healthcare, financial services, consumer, and business services. Despite calling themselves 'growth private equity,' they do both majority buyouts and minority growth investments across their target verticals.
Ajit began his career at TA in 1999 and was named CEO in 2021. Throughout his time at the firm he has sponsored 28 investments, totaling over $3.5 billion of invested capital. He received a BS in electrical engineering and economics, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University and an MBA as a Baker Scholar from the Harvard Business School. Known as an operationally-focused leader who came up through the ranks.
As Co-Managing Partner, Hythem is responsible for guiding TA's investment strategy and overseeing all aspects of firm management. He also serves as co-head of TA's North America Technology Group, bringing more than 22 years of experience working with and investing in some of the world's leading technology companies. Since joining TA in 2004, Hythem has been involved in more than 30 platform investments across North America, Europe, India and the Middle East.
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