Houlihan Lokey Advises ENTRUST Solutions Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that ENTRUST Solutions Group, a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, has sold a minority stake to Neuberger Berman Alternatives. Kohlberg retains a majority stake in ENTRUST. The transaction closed on August 23, 2023.

Headquartered in Illinois, ENTRUST is a leading consulting and engineering services platform serving the utility and infrastructure end markets. Working from 36 locations across the country, ENTRUST’s more than 3,000 professionals provide consulting, design, and engineering services to a broad base of customers, supporting the maintenance and upgrade of aging utility infrastructure across the United States.

Kohlberg is a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, New York. Over the firm’s 36-year history, the firm has organized 11 private equity vehicles totaling in aggregate more than $14 billion. Since its inception, the firm’s private equity investments have generated over $10 billion in realized returns with no realized losses since 2007. The firm invests in leading middle-market businesses that are identified through its rigorous White Paper Program in its six core practice areas.

Founded in 1939, Neuberger Berman is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate, and hedge funds— on behalf of institutions, advisors, and individual investors globally. Neuberger Berman’s investment philosophy is founded on active management, engaged ownership, and fundamental research, including industry-leading research into material environmental, social, and governance factors. Neuberger Berman is a PRI Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms. With offices in 26 countries, the firm’s diverse team has more than 2,750 professionals. For nine consecutive years, Neuberger Berman has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). The firm manages $443 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2023.

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to ENTRUST Solutions Group and Kohlberg & Company. This deal exemplifies the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s dedicated coverage of the utility services sector. This transaction also highlights the continued strength of the firm's relationship advising ENTRUST, having represented ENTRUST in three previous transactions in 2012, 2015, and 2019.