Houlihan Lokey Acquires Red Pine Advisors

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Move Strengthens Houlihan Lokey’s Capabilities in the Valuation of Complex, Illiquid Securities

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Houlihan Lokey, an international investment bank, today announced the acquisition of Red Pine Advisors LLC, a New York‐based financial advisory firm that specializes in the valuation and pricing of illiquid structured product portfolios.

Red Pine will be part of Houlihan Lokey’s Portfolio Valuation & Advisory Services practice, a market leader in valuing illiquid instruments held by alternative asset managers and other financial institutions. Red Pine’s principals bring decades of experience in various asset classes, including structured products, real estate loans and illiquid corporate credit instruments. Red Pine’s three principals and 20 employees join Houlihan Lokey as part of this transaction.

Red Pine was founded two and a half years ago, in the midst of the financial crisis, as market participants struggled to determine the value of complex securities that could not be traded on traditional exchanges. Decreased liquidity, heightened financial reporting requirements and demands for greater transparency by regulators and investors created an increased need for third party valuations and led to significant growth for Red Pine since inception.

“Red Pine has developed a compelling platform and a strong reputation for the valuation of structured products, particularly in the banking, insurance and asset management industries,” said Michael Fazio, Managing Director and head of Houlihan Lokey’s Portfolio Valuation & Advisory Services. “Their expertise, technology and market position complement our existing business and will allow us to compete aggressively within this growing market segment.”

Red Pine combines unparalleled product expertise with powerful proprietary modeling techniques and robust access to market data. The result is valuations that are more accurate and efficient. Red Pine models project cash flows on the basis of deal and collateral credit fundamentals and capture up‐to‐the‐minute market color in order to calibrate modeling and yield assumptions, thereby allowing for constant reflection of market developments in the valuation process.

“We are excited to join forces with Houlihan Lokey, a pioneer in the valuation business, at a time when the firm is clearly expanding its footprint across the globe,” said Mitchell Kahn, Managing Principal of Red Pine. “We think our capabilities in structured products will be a valuable addition to the organization and clients of both firms will benefit greatly from the combination.” Prior to founding Red Pine Advisors with Thomas Bogal and Wade Vandegrift, Mr. Kahn was the Co-President of RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS).

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey is an international investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, and valuation. The firm is ranked globally as the No. 1 restructuring advisor, the No. 1 M&A fairness opinion advisor over the past 10 years, and the No. 1 M&A advisor for U.S. transactions under $3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Houlihan Lokey has 14 offices and more than 800 employees in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm serves more than 1,000 clients each year, ranging from closely held companies to Global 500 corporations. For more information, visit www.HL.com.