Houlihan Lokey Advises DQS Holding GmbH

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that DQS Holding GmbH (DQS or the company), a leading global provider of certification and business assurance services, has agreed to receive a majority investment from Montagu, a leading middle-market private equity firm. DQS is owned by a consortium of shareholders, including UL Solutions, DGQ e.V., and DIN e.V. (DIN). DIN will remain a significant shareholder and partner with Montagu to support DQS’s next phase of growth. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to DQS and the DQS shareholders. Completion of the transaction is subject to obtaining regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

Founded in 1985 by DGQ, DIN and other German industry associations, DQS was Germany’s first and the world’s third management system certification body. Since then, DQS has evolved into a leading global provider of certification and business assurance services, supporting more than 20,000 clients across a broad range of sectors in over 60 countries. The company provides mission-critical services that enable its clients to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, strengthening trust with customers and stakeholders, and improving their performance. DQS is a long-standing partner to DAX-listed companies and major international corporations.

DQS operates in the fragmented, resilient, and sizeable multi-billion-dollar global certification and business assurance market, which is forecast to see steady growth driven by increasing regulatory requirements, rising quality and ESG standards, growing demand for digital trust certifications, and higher compliance complexity in sectors such as medical devices. The company is well positioned to capture the expected tailwinds from artificial intelligence (AI), centred around demand from digital trust and AI-related certification and business assurance services.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to DQS and the DQS shareholders in a deal that exemplifies the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s dedicated global coverage of the TICC sector.

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