Billionaire Steven Cohen Acquires Stake In Newly Public Houlihan Lokey Inc. (HLI)

Houlihan Lokey did not receive any proceeds from the offering, as the Class A common shares were actually sold by the investment bank’s major owners: Orix USA, which is the U.S. branch of the Japanese investment conglomerate Orix Corp., and the bank’s executives and directors. Meanwhile, the aforementioned owners will still continue to run the bank and will hold Class B shares, which have greater voting rights than the Class A stock. Raising capital was not the reason of the IPO, as the company itself did not receive any proceeds from the public offering; the company is seeking for more recognition which is expected to boost its activities and attract more clients.

Houlihan Lokey’s Corporate Finance group is considered the leading M&A and capital markets advisor for mid-cap transactions, as it was named the top M&A advisor for United States transactions below $5 billion in 2014. The company’s business is a strong cash-flow generator, delivering fee revenue of $680.87 million in its fiscal year that ended March 31, higher than the revenue of $592.48 million reported in 2014. At the same time, Houlihan Lokey’s net income for 2014 reached $79.9 million, increasing from $61.32 million reported in 2014.

The investment banking firm currently owns 17 offices across the globe and has three additional offices through its joint ventures, which will allow the company to expand into new geographies both organically and through mergers and acquisitions. The company has actually expressed its desire to expand its geographic scope into the regions that are likely to spur growth for the company in the future. Earlier this year, Houlihan Lockey announced a joint venture in Australia that was set to pursue advisory activities in the region, which backs up the company’s current expansion plans.

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