Shares of Houlihan Lokey Inc, which advised on the Enron Corp and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc bankruptcies, rose as much as 10 pct percent in their market debut, valuing the boutique advisory firm at about $1.51 billion. The company's shares rose to a high of $23.10 on Thursday, compared with the initial public offering price of $21 per Class A share.
The IPO raised $220.5 million for Houlihan Lokey's two biggest shareholders: ORIX USA, an arm of Japanese financial services company ORIX Corp, and HL Holders, which comprises Houlihan Lokey's employees and management. The size of the IPO was reduced to 10.5 million shares from 13.1 million, according to an underwriter. Houlihan Lokey is the first independent investment bank to go public since Moelis & Co's debut last year, joining a growing club of independent boutiques firms such as Lazard Ltd , Evercore Partners Inc, Piper Jaffray Co and Greenhill & Co.
Corporate finance, including M&A and capital markets advisory, is Houlihan Lokey's biggest division accounting for more than half of its revenue. Financial restructuring contributed 27 percent and financial advisory the rest. The company's revenue spiked last year, with fee revenue jumping 15 percent to $680.9 million in the year ended March 31. In same period, net income rose 30.1 percent to $79.9 million.