Houlihan Lokey, an international investment bank, acquired MESA Securities, Inc. Monday in an attempt to bolster its media and entertainment coverage.
MESA is a New York-based independent advisory firm providing mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and other strategic advisory services to clients in both traditional and digital media and entertainment; core areas of focus include film, television, music, sports, live entertainment and digital media, including verticals like games, interactive, advertising and e-commerce.
The MESA team will join Houlihan Lokey’s existing Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Group, with Mark Patricof, managing partner and one of MESA’s co-founders, joining John Cooper, Rob Louv, and Chris Wilson as one of the co-heads of the Group. MESA’s two other co-founders, Jerome Levy and Brian Richards, will join the Group as managing directors.
“MESA’s sector focus is at the leading edge of the evolution of the media, entertainment, and marketing sectors and their relationships with global media and technology investors and buyers at all stages of growth are exceptionally strong,” Scott Adelson, co-president and global co-head of corporate finance at Houlihan Lokey, said. “In addition, as has been the case with other recent acquisitions, the strong cultural compatibility between the two companies was highly attractive to us, and we’re confident that it will contribute to a seamless and rapid integration. We are delighted that the MESA team has become an integral part of our TMT Group.”
“We have had inquiries over the years from numerous investment banks, but we saw Houlihan Lokey as the ideal fit based on their strategy, leadership, and deep entrepreneurial spirit and DNA,” said Patricof. “Joining Houlihan Lokey considerably expands our global footprint and will enable us to offer MESA’s legacy client base, several of which are market-leading businesses, a significantly expanded suite of products and services. The entire MESA team is excited to begin this new chapter and join the Houlihan Lokey team to build the preeminent TMT practice in the industry.”