Houlihan Lokey Advises The Difference Card

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that EBS, Inc., dba The Difference Card, a portfolio company of Northlane Capital Partners (Northlane), has been acquired by Stone Point Capital (Stone Point). The transaction closed on July 1, 2025. Houlihan Lokey served as the lead sellside advisor to The Difference Card and Northlane.

The Difference Card is a highly differentiated technology-enabled provider of healthcare cost containment solutions and services for employer groups. The company provides innovative alternatives to traditional healthcare insurance funding models that enable employers to reduce healthcare costs without reducing employees’ benefit levels or increasing employees’ out-of-pocket expenses. The company has a 20-plus-year track record of delivering substantial health insurance savings for more than 1,300 employers across the U.S. in various end markets.

Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Northlane is a middle-market private equity firm focused on key segments within the healthcare and business services sectors, where its principals have invested $1.8 billion of equity capital. Northlane’s strategy is to partner with industry-leading companies and great management teams, aligning incentives to accelerate growth and build value.

Stone Point is an alternative investment firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, with $65 billion of assets under management. The firm invests in alternative asset classes, including private equity through its flagship Trident Funds and credit through commingled funds and separately managed accounts. In addition, Stone Point supports its portfolio companies and other clients by providing dedicated financing solutions.

This transaction further strengthens Houlihan Lokey’s leadership position in the employer-sponsored healthcare sector. In the past 12 months, we have advised on 10 closed M&A transactions in this category, representing more than $4 billion in proceeds. Houlihan Lokey’s Healthcare Group is among the largest and most active dedicated healthcare investment banking groups in the world. In 2024, the group closed 35 transactions and was ranked by LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) as the No. 1 M&A advisor for global healthcare transactions under $1 billion.*

*Excludes accounting firms and brokers.

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