Houlihan Capital Research
Advisory Approach
Houlihan Capital is a leading employee-owned valuation, financial advisory, and investment banking firm headquartered in Chicago with deep expertise in lower and middle-market M&A advisory. Founded on the principle of delivering superior client value through independent, conflict-free analysis, the firm combines institutional-quality process rigor with responsive, customized solutions tailored to each client's unique circumstances. The firm's thesis is that business owners and their advisors benefit most from bankers who combine deep transaction experience with objective analytical rigor—avoiding the conflicts of interest endemic to larger universal banks while delivering the institutional capabilities of larger platforms.
Houlihan Capital's approach to M&A is characterized by comprehensive buy and sell-side advisory services, with particular strength in sell-side engagements where the firm conducts exhaustive buyer identification and process management. The firm operates with senior-level banker involvement from engagement inception through close, ensuring strategic guidance and personalized execution. The team emphasizes responsiveness and operational understanding—many team members bring operational and valuation expertise into the boardroom, enabling conversations at the C-suite level about valuation drivers and buyer fit beyond pure transactional mechanics.
Sector Focus and Deal Track Record
Houlihan Capital maintains active practices across manufacturing and industrial services, healthcare services, business services, technology, cannabis, and specialty verticals. Recent M&A transactions demonstrate this breadth and depth of sector expertise:
Manufacturing & Industrial Services: Advanced Compressor Technology (ACT), a Batavia, Illinois-based equipment service company founded in 1991, was sold to Burckhardt Compression (Switzerland), a global leader in reciprocating compressor systems. ACT specialized in maintenance, repair, and manufacturing of spare parts for the downstream market, serving customers in fertilizer, industrial gases, petrochemical, and refinery sectors with approximately 30 employees. Cleveland Cement Contractors, a concrete construction business based in Cleveland, Ohio, sold certain assets to Baker Construction in March 2025, demonstrating Houlihan Capital's capability in managing partial asset sales and restructuring engagements in the industrial construction sector.
Healthcare Services: Paragon Clinical, PLLC, a Burr Ridge, Illinois-based provider of on-site clinical support and staff augmentation to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, was sold to HealthDrive Corporation (portfolio company of Cressey & Company) in August 2024. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Mary Beth Sutkowski, Paragon Clinical had become a leading regional provider of primary care, palliative care, and psychiatry services to long-term care facilities across the greater Chicagoland area. The transaction exemplifies Houlihan Capital's strength in healthcare services—a sector experiencing significant consolidation and requiring detailed operational understanding of reimbursement models, staffing structures, and regulatory compliance.
Specialty Consumer: Choice Labs Holding Co, a Jackson, Michigan-based licensed processor of medical and adult-use cannabis, was sold to multi-state operator Glorious Cannabis Company in September 2023. Founded in 2017 by Wes Lutz on a 10-acre campus, Choice Labs had become one of Michigan's largest cannabis processors with recognized brands including CHOICE, Crude Boys, Drip, Cannabis PM, Quantum Energy, and Mojo Chocolates. This transaction reflects the firm's deep expertise and network within the cannabis industry—President Andy Smith has provided valuation and investment banking services to dozens of private cannabis companies and major multi-state operators, positioning Houlihan Capital as a trusted advisor to operators navigating complex state-by-state regulatory frameworks and evolving market consolidation.
Logistics & Warehousing: North American Warehousing Company, a specialized third-party logistics provider founded in 1997, was sold to The Integration Group (portfolio company of Maxwell Street Capital Partners) in September 2025. This transaction demonstrates capability in industrial services and logistics consolidation.
The firm's transaction experience spans strategic acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, majority recapitalizations, divestitures, and asset sales. Houlihan Capital has completed dozens of transactions in the micro to lower-middle market (under $150M enterprise value), with particular concentration in the $5M-$150M revenue range. The firm's investment banking practice brings transactional scale and sector-specific experience without the bureaucracy or conflicts of interest characteristic of larger platforms.
Advisory Profile & Process
Houlihan Capital targets closely-held businesses with enterprise values below $150M, EBITDA between $2M and $25M, and revenues between $5M and $150M. The firm excels with founder-owned and family-owned businesses seeking sell-side advisory. The typical process involves comprehensive buyer identification, development of transaction materials and management presentations, structured data room management, and ongoing process facilitation through close. The firm staffs engagements with senior bankers—transactions are managed by Managing Directors and Directors rather than junior associates—ensuring consistent relationship ownership and decision-making authority.
The firm's engagement timeline typically spans 6-9 months from engagement to close, allowing sufficient time for comprehensive buyer outreach while maintaining momentum. Houlihan Capital conducts exhaustive buyer identification across strategic acquirers, financial sponsors (private equity), and secondary market participants, tailoring the universe to the client's preferences and transaction objectives.
Competitive Positioning
Houlihan Capital differentiates through three core capabilities. First, valuation expertise: the firm operates an integrated valuation and investment banking practice where M&A bankers work alongside valuators who understand fair value methodology deeply—enabling sophisticated discussions about valuation drivers and defensibility. Second, operational understanding: many of the firm's senior bankers bring business operations background or valuation expertise into client conversations, enabling deeper discussions about operational improvement, market positioning, and buyer motivation. Third, independence: as an employee-owned firm with FINRA and SIPC membership, Houlihan Capital operates without the conflicts of interest inherent to universal banks or platforms where corporate finance, lending, and equity underwriting create misaligned incentives. Fourth, responsiveness: the firm prides itself on rapid turnaround, minimal operational disruption to the client, and availability of senior-level decision makers to client management and board.
Team Experience & Expertise
Houlihan Capital's investment banking practice is led by experienced middle-market M&A professionals. Andy Smith, co-founder and President, has 25+ years of active middle-market M&A and financing experience, having completed more than 200 M&A and financing assignments. Smith previously co-founded the M&A practice at EVEREN Securities (formerly Kemper Securities) and brings extensive cannabis industry expertise. He holds CPA and FINRA Series 7, 24, and 27 certifications and is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Frank Martinez, Director of Investment Banking, manages engagement execution and advises clients across the transaction process. Martinez has experience across manufacturing, industrials, consumer products, healthcare, and business services. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds FINRA Series 79, 63, and 24 certifications, bringing both analytical rigor and regulatory expertise to transactions. Martinez graduated from Miami University with a focus in finance and entrepreneurship.
Joe Lunkes, Senior Advisor for Investment Banking, brings 25+ years of middle-market M&A experience from previous roles as Managing Director and Vice President at RSM Capital Markets, Dresner Investment Services, and Geneva Capital Markets. Lunkes is a CPA and MBA graduate (Northwestern's Kellogg School), with prior public accounting experience at Price Waterhouse and corporate banking background at Continental Illinois National Bank.
Sam Chaffee, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, is a CFA Charterholder with regulatory oversight responsibility and investment banking involvement in major transactions.
Financial Terms & Fee Structure
Houlihan Capital typically structures M&A advisory engagements with a monthly retainer (typically $10K-$25K/month) credited against success fees. The firm employs modified Lehman pricing on enterprise value, consistent with lower-middle market standards. Minimum engagement size is typically $10M transaction enterprise value, though this is flexible based on transaction complexity and strategic fit. The firm requires exclusivity for sell-side assignments and typically does not accept engagements below a $10M transaction threshold to ensure adequate resource allocation and focus.
Buyer Network & Market Relationships
Through recent M&A activity, Houlihan Capital has demonstrated relationships with a diverse buyer universe including PE sponsors such as Maxwell Street Capital Partners, Cressey & Company, and Breakwater Capital; strategic acquirers across manufacturing (Burckhardt Compression), healthcare services (HealthDrive Corporation), and specialty sectors; and family office and founder-led acquirers. The firm's transaction track record demonstrates successful placement with both strategic and financial sponsors, reflecting balanced buyer relationships and market credibility.
Regulatory & Compliance Stature
Houlihan Capital is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer (CRD# 156028) and SIPC member, demonstrating commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards. The firm completed SOC 1 examination in 2024, providing third-party verification of internal controls and service quality standards. This regulatory and compliance infrastructure positions Houlihan Capital as a trusted advisor to corporate boards, special committees, and family office stakeholders requiring institutional-grade process rigor.
Geographic Coverage & Operations
Houlihan Capital maintains offices in Chicago (headquarters at 200 W. Madison Street, Suite 2150) and Cleveland (2400 Superior Avenue East, 1st Floor). The dual-office structure provides coverage of Midwestern and Eastern regional markets while maintaining centralized support and expertise. The firm services clients nationally and internationally, as evidenced by transactions involving international strategic acquirers like Burckhardt Compression.
Not a Fit If
Houlihan Capital typically declines businesses below $10M transaction value, those with significant pending litigation or regulatory matters, and situations where sellers insist on limited process (the firm's value derives from comprehensive buyer identification and competitive tension). The firm also focuses on going-concern enterprises and established business models rather than early-stage, pre-revenue, or highly speculative ventures.
Summary
Houlihan Capital represents a differentiated alternative to larger universal banks for lower-middle market business owners seeking sell-side M&A advisory. The combination of 25+ years of partner-level experience, integrated valuation expertise, operational understanding, FINRA/SIPC regulatory credibility, and conflict-free positioning makes the firm particularly attractive to sophisticated founders and boards seeking institutional-quality process without the bureaucracy or misaligned incentives of larger platforms. Recent successful transactions across diverse sectors (manufacturing, healthcare, cannabis, logistics) and buyer types (strategic, PE, family office) demonstrate execution capability and market credibility.