Mr. Watson is a Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Restructuring Group, where he advises companies and creditors on complex in-court and out-of-court restructurings, recapitalizations, liability management transactions, structured financings, and distressed M&A across sectors such as consumer, retail, telecommunications, software, and government services. He is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
Mr. Watson’s notable company advisory engagements include Lucky Brand I and II, Machine Zone, PHI Inc., The Rockport Group, LLC, and Totes Isotoner. His notable creditor advisory engagements include Brightspeed, Constellis Holdings, Cyxtera, GTT Communications, Lumen Technologies, Mobileum, Quest Software, Riverbed, Springs Window Fashions, Sequa Corp., TPx (known as U.S. Telepacific), Unifin Financiera, and Zayo.
Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Watson was an Associate in BMO Capital Markets’ Leveraged Finance Group, where he advised private equity firms and corporations across a range of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds acquisition financings, dividend recapitalizations, and debt refinancings. He began his career in Ernst & Young’s Assurance Group, focusing on financial services firms.
Mr. Watson holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Finance, and a B.A. in Business Economics and Accounting, with highest honors, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California and earned his Abitur in Germany. Mr. Watson is fluent in English and German.