Houlihan Lokey Advises MML

Transaction: Houlihan Lokey Advises MML

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that MML Capital Partners has received passive minority equity GP Stake investments from Investcorp and Wafra’s Capital Constellation. The transactions will support MML’s long-term growth and significantly enhance the firm’s global distribution capabilities.

MML Capital Partners (MML), an international alternatives investment firm headquartered in London, has received passive minority equity GP Stake investments from a consortium of highly respected investors: (i) Investcorp Holdings B.S.C., via the Investcorp Strategic Capital Group (Investcorp), and (ii) Capital Constellation (Constellation), as advised by Wafra Inc. (collectively, “Wafra”).

The GP Stake investments by Investcorp and Wafra represent powerful endorsements of MML’s unique investment strategy and significantly enhance MML’s global distribution capabilities. The transactions also facilitate the retirement of co-founder Rory Brooks CBE, allowing him to concentrate his focus on philanthropy and public service. The independent firm will continue to be majority owned and run by co-CEOs Bal Johal and Ian Wallis.

Headquartered in London, MML also has offices in Dublin, New York, and Paris. MML, which recently won multiple awards including the prestigious Real Deals European middle-market PE Fund of the Year 2022, has built a reputation for providing bespoke “tailored solutions” to middle-market businesses, in turn providing a unique blend of “private equity returns with downside protection” to its own investors.

The strategic investments follow a long unbroken period of exceptional performance at MML across its various Partnership Capital strategies and the launch of a dedicated value-added Infrastructure strategy led by Andrew Honan.

Investcorp is a global investment manager with over $50 billion of AUM, specializing in alternative investments across private equity, real estate, credit, absolute return strategies, GP Stakes, infrastructure, and insurance asset management. Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has focused on generating attractive returns for its clients, while creating long-term value across its portfolio companies by adopting a disciplined investment process, employing talented professionals, and utilizing the resources of a global institution with an innovative approach.

Wafra is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $31 billion of assets under management. Funds advised by Wafra have formed 26 strategic partnerships with both growth and established alternative asset managers. By providing flexible and accretive capital solutions and focusing on the long term, Wafra aligns with and invests in high-quality investment management teams.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to MML and assisted in structuring and negotiating the GP Stakes.

These transactions represent an additional successful engagement for Houlihan Lokey’s market-leading GP Advisory platform.

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