The global arm of Manchester-headquartered advisory firm GCA Altium is to be acquired by investment bank Houlihan Lokey, it has been announced.
GCA has entered into a definitive agreement which will see Houlihan Lokey table a tender offer to acquire the company for a total cash purchase price of approximately ¥65bn, or approximately £428m.
Under the terms of the deal, which has been unanimously approved by both boards, Houlihan Lokey's tender offer will start on August 4 and will seek to acquire all outstanding shares of GCA.
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Houlihan Lokey is a global investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, and valuation.
The firm serves corporations, institutions, and governments worldwide with offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Upon completion of the transaction, GCA will be fully integrated into Houlihan Lokey and GCA Altium and GCA’s US business will operate under the Houlihan Lokey brand.
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Phil Adams, CEO of GCA Altium, said: "Becoming part of Houlihan Lokey is a hugely exciting step for GCA and a milestone on our strong growth journey.
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"The two firms combined will form the largest independent global M&A boutique, and the scale of our global platform will create fantastic opportunities both for our clients and our teams.
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"We feel that GCA and Houlihan Lokey complement each other perfectly in terms of our culture, sector and geographic coverage. We look forward to becoming part of such an outstanding firm."
Scott Beiser, CEO of Houlihan Lokey, added: "The acquisition of GCA will immediately create one of the largest technology advisors in the world, one that more closely matches the size and importance of this sector in today’s global economy.
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"In addition, this combination would significantly expand our presence in Europe and Asia and establish Houlihan Lokey as one of the most geographically diversified investment banking firms among our peer group.
"GCA’s corporate culture, business philosophy, and client focus all closely resemble Houlihan Lokey’s, and we believe our combined organisations will enable us to more effectively serve our clients and position our firm for the future as we continue to grow our suite of products and services around the world."
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Houlihan Lokey retained Daiwa Securities Co Ltd as its financial advisor and tender offer agent for the transaction and Latham & Watkins LLP as its legal advisor.
GCA retained Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and Plutus Consulting as its financial advisors for the transaction and Morrison & Foerster as its legal advisor.