Software-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo has fully exited its position in Nasdaq Inc, divesting its remaining stake in the exchange operator in a series of transactions totalling $3.4 billion, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites an unnamed source familiar with the matter as revealing that the firm completed the final leg of its exit on Tuesday, offloading approximately 25.5 million shares to JPMorgan at $80.68 per share.
The sale follows an earlier divestment on May 7, when Thoma Bravo sold 17.33 million shares at $77.90, generating roughly $1.35bn, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
The total proceeds from this month’s disposals build on Thoma Bravo’s initial secondary offering in July 2024, when it sold 41.6 million shares for $2.72bn, following Nasdaq’s $10.5bn acquisition of Adenza — a fintech platform Thoma Bravo had owned — in a cash-and-stock deal completed in 2023.
That deal gave the tech-focused buyout firm a significant equity stake in Nasdaq, which it has now entirely liquidated.
Thoma Bravo’s methodical unwind of its Nasdaq holdings marks a textbook private equity exit strategy, converting paper gains from a strategic M&A transaction into realised returns over a multi-phase timeline.
While Thoma Bravo departs, Borse Dubai remains Nasdaq’s largest shareholder, despite trimming its stake from 15.5% to 10.8% last year.
