Houlihan Lokey Inc

Goldman Sachs led the mergers and acquisitions financial adviser rankings by deal value in the first half of 2026, advising on $597.4 billion worth of deals, according to GlobalData. Morgan Stanley took second place with $420 billion, followed by JPMorgan with $382.2 billion, Bank of America with $230.4 billion, and Wells Fargo with $208.9 billion. Houlihan Lokey led by volume, advising on 152 deals. Goldman Sachs more than doubled its advised deal value compared to the first half of 2025, moving from third to first place.

Houlihan Lokey shares rose 3.2% after the investment bank announced an agreement to acquire Intrepid Financial Partners, an independent investment bank focused on the energy sector. The deal will add 34 financial professionals, bringing Houlihan Lokey's global energy team to more than 70 specialists. Intrepid's founder, Hugh "Skip" McGee III, will become managing director and global chairman of Houlihan Lokey's Oil & Gas Group. The acquisition is expected to close before September 30, 2026. Shares later settled at $138.30, up 3.1% from the previous close.

Fitch has withdrawn its investment-grade rating on Electronic Arts bonds tied to a planned $55 billion all-cash leveraged buyout, a move bondholders argue could trigger a premium payout under change-of-control covenants. The buyout is backed by Silver Lake, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, with JPMorgan Chase advising the buyers. Bondholders, advised by Akin Gump and Houlihan Lokey, reportedly control 75% of the 2031 notes and 90% of the 2051 notes, giving them a strong position in the months-long dispute. The consortium views the investment-grade rating as helpful but not required, arguing that defeasance could invalidate the covenants because the notes would be prepaid. The consent deadline has been extended multiple times as the deal awaits regulatory approval, with no engagement between the parties reported so far.

Morningstar is rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations that bring its research and analytics directly into tools like Outlook and Excel, while also launching new daily valuation indexes for the collateralized loan obligations market in collaboration with Houlihan Lokey. The Copilot integration aims to embed Morningstar's analyst reports, fund data, and models into the workflows of advisors and analysts, helping the company compete with data providers such as S&P Global, FactSet, and Bloomberg. The new Morningstar Houlihan CLO Indexes extend Morningstar's index business into private credit, targeting growing demand for transparency in CLOs and leveraged loans. These moves come as Morningstar's stock recently closed at $154.65, down 12.5% over the past 30 days and 50.2% over the past year.

Morningstar and Houlihan Lokey are collaborating to launch a new suite of daily valuation indexes for the collateralized loan obligation market later this year. The Morningstar Houlihan CLO Indexes will combine Morningstar's index design and governance with Houlihan Lokey's valuation framework and credit market expertise to provide reliable benchmarks in the rapidly expanding CLO market, which has grown to more than $1.5 trillion in assets and could exceed $3 trillion by 2030. The indexes aim to improve transparency and consistency in a market where the availability of frequent pricing and benchmarks has not kept pace with growth. Sanjay Arya, head of innovation for Morningstar Indexes, said the collaboration addresses a clear investor need and will bring more transparency to private markets, while Dr. Cindy Ma, managing director and global head of portfolio valuation and fund advisory services at Houlihan Lokey, noted that data, transparency, and advanced analytics are becoming critical competitive differentiators for investors.

StockStory highlights Houlihan Lokey as a cash-heavy stock to buy, while flagging G-III and Live Oak Bancshares as facing challenges. Houlihan Lokey, with a net cash position of $633.6 million representing 6.8% of its market cap, is praised for exceptional 16.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years and 29.7% annual earnings per share growth, alongside 20.1% annual tangible book value per share growth. In contrast, G-III holds $100.7 million in net cash but is seen as underperforming due to unexciting sales trends and lack of free cash flow, while Live Oak Bancshares, with $716.6 million in net cash, is cautioned against because of weak unit economics and declining earnings per share despite revenue growth.