Houlihan Lokey Advises HCT Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the merger of HCT Group (HCT) with Knowlton Development Corporation (KDC/ONE), a portfolio company of Cornell Capital. The transaction closed on January 23, 2020.

HCT, founded by Chris Thorpe along with his wife Clare and eldest son James in 1992, has grown organically to become a global leader providing full-service, turnkey solutions across concept development and design, manufacturing, fill and assembly, and logistics and operations. With headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and offices in New York, New Jersey, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Shanghai, HCT partners with more than 400 clients comprising some of the most iconic names and most successful beauty brands across indie, prestige, and mass segments.

KDC/ONE is a leading custom innovator, formulator, and manufacturer serving the prestige beauty, personal care, and household sectors. Founded in 2002, KDC/ONE is headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec, and employs more than 5,000 employees across 16 state-of-the-art facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. The business delivers high-touch innovation, operational excellence, and speed to market to well-known brands and indie, emerging, and prestige brands.

Cornell Capital is a private investment firm that takes a value-driven approach to investing by partnering with strong and entrepreneurial management teams. The firm seeks opportunities in market-leading businesses across the consumer, financial, and industrial/business services sectors. Founded by Henry Cornell in 2013, the firm runs a highly seasoned senior leadership team with decades of shared investing experience. The firm currently manages more than $3.0 billion of assets and has offices in New York and Hong Kong.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the exclusive financial advisor to HCT and assisted in initiating and negotiating the transaction on their behalf. This transaction reinforces Houlihan Lokey's strong global franchise in the beauty and personal care industry.