Houlihan Lokey Debuts in IPO

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By Chris Lange Published
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Houlihan Lokey Inc. (NYSE: HLI) entered the market Thursday morning. The company announced the pricing for its initial public offering on Wednesday evening as $21 per share for 10.5 million shares. The expected price range had been $22 to $24 per share. Shares had jumped to $23 after the first half hour of trading.

The underwriters for the offering are Merrill Lynch; Goldman Sachs; UBS Investment Bank; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods; Houlihan Lokey; Sandler O’Neill + Partners; and JMP Securities.

Houlihan Lokey is a global independent investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financings, financial restructurings and financial advisory services. Through its offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, it serves a diverse set of clients worldwide, including corporations, financial sponsors and government agencies.

The services are marketed through its product areas, industry groups and financial sponsors group, serving its clients in three primary business practices: Corporate Finance (encompassing M&A and capital markets advisory), Financial Restructuring (both out-of-court and in formal bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings) and Financial Advisory Services (including financial opinions and a variety of valuation and financial consulting services).

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At the end of March, Houlihan Lokey had a team of 668 financial professionals across 17 offices globally and an additional three offices through its joint ventures, serving approximately 800 clients annually over the past several years, ranging from closely held companies to Fortune Global 500 corporations.

Houlihan Lokey described some of its achievements in the filing:

Our Corporate Finance group is the leading M&A and capital markets advisor for mid-cap transactions. We were ranked the #1 M&A advisor for United States transactions under $5 billion in 2014 and we have been the #1 M&A advisor for United States mid-cap transactions every year for the last nine years (2006-2014).

From fiscal 2000 to 2015, the company’s revenues grew to $680.9 million from $144.1 million, and the net income during the same period grew to $79.9 million from $15.6 million.

The company will not receive any proceeds from the offering. Instead, the selling stockholders, ORIX USA and the HL Holders, will receive the proceeds.

Shares of Houlihan Lokey were up 9.5% at $22.90 Thursday afternoon. So far on the day the trading range has been $21.65 to $23.10, and as of 1:00 p.m. Eastern, nearly 4 million shares have moved.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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