Capital Markets

Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Markets Group offers its clients equity and debt advisory services with access to financing in the private and public capital markets through the issuance of debt, equity, or hybrid securities. Our financial professionals have decades of combined experience and a track record of successfully executing financings through changing market conditions.

Our global footprint and deep senior relationships with various capital providers allow us to provide our clients with the flexibility and support to meet their capital needs.

Financing Experts With Proven Results

Our Capital Markets Group provides equity and debt capital-raising services for a wide variety of clients, from large, publicly held, multinational corporations to privately held companies either sponsor-backed or founded and run by entrepreneurs (including capital raises for startups). In partnership with our Industry Coverage teams and Financial Sponsors Group, we combine superior sector knowledge and relationships with significant debt advisory/debt capital markets expertise in structuring and syndicating financings.

We approach each transaction with the goal of creating a capital structure that enables our clients to achieve their strategic priorities with the best terms available in the market. Houlihan Lokey has acted as an underwriter (U.S. only), an agent, or a strategic advisor for a wide variety of financings, including private issuances of corporate loans, leveraged loans, mezzanine debt, and minority equity as well as public offerings of common stock, equity-linked securities, and high-yield bonds. In a capital markets environment that is rapidly changing and increasingly complex, it is critical to have a trusted investment bank with the experience and proven ability to deliver a tailored financing solution—not just capital—without any conflicts of interest, as we provide independent advisory services.

In 2023, the group raised and advised on more than ~$14 billion in capital across approximately 100 transactions with ~65 different financial sponsors. Given our large volume of financing transactions, we believe that we have a unique ability to fully understand the ever-changing capital markets and achieve optimal outcomes for our clients.

We have nearly 100 dedicated professionals across New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Milan, Dubai, and Paris.

Private Capital Solutions

Market Leader

We work with clients as a placement agent to offer private and public clients market-leading access to private capital (revolving credit facilities; first-lien, second-lien, and unitranche term loans; mezzanine debt; HoldCo PIK notes; preferred equity; convertible preferred equity, etc.). We create bespoke private capital solutions for a wide variety of uses, including acquisition finance, growth capital, recapitalizations, refinancings/optimization of the capital structure, asset-based structures, shareholder liquidity, and special situations. Supported by our Financial Sponsors Group, we maintain an active network of financial institutions, global asset managers, regional and international banks, pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, BDCs, and family offices seeking to invest in, or lend directly to, private and public companies. By combining these resources with our significant expertise in structuring, executing, and syndicating private capital, we offer our private capital-seeking clients the broadest funding choices possible.

Public Capital Markets Advisory

Independent Advice

We provide independent advisory services, assisting clients in achieving best execution by helping them determine which markets to access, what structures are most appropriate, and how to position their businesses with rating agencies (rating advisory services), banks, and institutional investors to attain optimal terms. In the U.S., we also have the ability to serve as underwriter or bookrunner with respect to traditional debt and equity offerings, including leveraged loans and public offerings of debt, equity-linked, and equity securities.

With our deep knowledge of the financing markets and firm expertise in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and financial restructuring, we provide capital markets advice and innovative solutions to address some of the most challenging financing needs.

Syndicated Leveraged Finance (U.S. Only)

HL Finance, LLC

We, through HL Finance, arrange on senior secured leveraged loans for financial sponsor-backed, privately held, and public corporate entities. HL Finance acts as arranger on syndicated loan transactions and enters into agreements with strategic investors to provide underwriting commitments in support of, and to participate in, those transactions.

Houlihan Lokey, through this platform, participates in both committed and best efforts transactions across a broad range of financings, including leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, and refinancings, primarily for borrowers with EBITDA and capital needs in excess of $50 million and $250 million, respectively.

Liability Management

Houlihan Lokey has a successful and differentiated practice advising clients in situations that fall between traditional capital markets and restructuring services to obtain an out-of-court solution to their balance sheet issues. Our services include:

Addressing maturities and other capital structure constraints, including by amend and extend or covenant reset transactions
Balance sheet deleveraging
Structuring M&A and other strategic transactions for companies with over-leveraged capital structures
Creating value for stakeholders through complex balance sheet solutions