Houlihan Lokey, Inc.,, a global investment bank, announced that it has acquired BearTooth Advisors (BearTooth), an independent advisory firm providing strategic advisory and placement agency services to alternative investment managers. The transaction closed yesterday.
 
BearTooth was founded in 2014 by Bob Brown, Andy Lund, Jim McGee, and Riverstone Holdings LLC and operates as a division of Riverstone Capital Services LLC and Riverstone Europe LLP. BearTooth’s Partners include Brown, Lund, McGee, and Cristina Forcina Westermann, who collectively have more than 60 years of experience at leading alternative investment management firms and traditional placement agents. Through this unique combination of agency and in-house operating experience, BearTooth seeks to provide general partner clients with a more strategic alternative to legacy agency options. Since its formation, BearTooth has been engaged as lead advisor on more than 20 mandates, including traditional follow-on fundraises, new product extensions, new firm and fund formations, direct private equity placements, and broader strategic advisory services.
 
Following the closing of the transaction, the BearTooth team will form the Private Funds Group, a new service offering within Houlihan Lokey’s Corporate Finance business. The group will be jointly led by Brown, Lund, and McGee and will comprise 17 personnel based in London and New York.
 
“The establishment of the Private Funds Group both underscores and takes advantage of two of Houlihan Lokey’s key strengths: a breadth and depth of financial sponsor relationships that is perhaps unmatched in financial services and our prescient recognition of the prevalence and increasing importance of alternative sources of capital,” said Scott Adelson, Co-President and Co-Head of Corporate Finance. “The new group is a logical extension of that expertise and market knowledge, and combined with our other successful services such as Illiquid Financial Assets and Capital Markets, we are positioning ourselves to be the leader in client service in this important and growing asset class,” he added.
 
“When forming BearTooth, we set out to provide general partners with a more strategic alternative to legacy fundraising options, believing that certain industry dynamics had created a unique opportunity to do so. Since then, we have found the opportunity itself to be more significant, growing more rapidly than originally thought. We look forward to joining Houlihan Lokey and the opportunity to offer our unique value proposition to both new and existing clients,” said Brown. "In addition, we look forward to expanding our relationship with the limited partner community to address its evolving needs and interests across a broader range of investment alternatives,” he continued.
 
“The BearTooth team possesses a unique blend of expertise as both traditional placement agents and advisors that, along with their exceptional client focus and entrepreneurial success in building an outstanding business at BearTooth, makes them an excellent cultural fit with our firm. As we continue to enhance client service to general partners and limited partners in the rapidly evolving private equity primary and secondary markets, the new group brings to Houlihan Lokey a powerful service offering that builds upon and complements our other capabilities, particularly our Illiquid Financial Assets practice,” said John Mavredakis, Global Head of the Financial Sponsors Group.