In the 2.5 years since Shamsi has been in charge, the firm has done a single GP-led deal, and it was for Revelstoke and very mediocre. How can a bank afford to pay salaries for this kind of deal generation? Pretty horrible.
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, it seems that Houlihan Lokey's performance in the GP-led deal space has been underwhelming, with only a single deal done under Shamsi's leadership in the last 2.5 years. The deal in question, for Revelstoke, was also considered mediocre. As for how the bank can afford to pay salaries with this kind of deal generation, it's important to remember that banks have multiple revenue streams and departments, so the performance of one area doesn't necessarily reflect the overall financial health of the institution. However, it's clear that improvements could be made in this specific area.
Sources: Best PCA/Secondary Advisory Groups, Houlihan Lokey reputation (2020), Secondaries Comp / Culture in 2023
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Yea, they're done from what I hear. 0 dealflow and too large of a team to sustain. Senior team is too weak and they're all based in London while trying to build out a US book of business during a downturn. The primaries team hasn't been great either but at least they're bringing in SOME revenue at this point.
Pretty sure PCA is based out of NYC. Shamsi has been a senior guy at a variety of firms, like CS, but doesn't seem capable of bringing in deal flow. Not sure how he has able to bounce around to big shops after having a reputation of not being able to execute.
His team is 1/4 the size of laz/moelis for example and closed the same number of deals as them. Already puts his fees/head higher than most shops, I'm sure this will trigger more for the pipeline
Name some deals. I've legit seen one GPled come from that shop.
Never understood why he seems to catch so much heat on here. Based on what I know it seems like tough timing… dedicated secondaries team wasn’t built out until after the peak of 2021 (and to the other point - a small team) and now you’re faced with a GP-led market that’s down 30%. At the end of the day, doesn’t seem like any of the new entrants have been able to take market share from the incumbent groups. The secondaries team also sits within the same group as primaries and GP stakes advisory so the broader team has been bringing in revenue
I’d like to add that GP-stakes has been killing it, probably the best group on the street with 5 people, so a lot of sponsor connections within the group for cross-selling
Yup, believe they are in the top two by market share.
Looks like they want to double down:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-03/houlihan-lokey-is-sa…
Shamsi definitely getting the boot now. Lol
Is Shamsi really that toxic? Or he's just an abysmal performer?
Not toxic. Super nice, actually. Just can't bring in the bizzz
Now that HL acquired Triago, do you think they will demote old man Shamsi back to Executive Assistant to work directly under Chad young shiny gun Matt Swain?
Nope haha I think they just have a powerhouse of personalities now
Word is they brought him into a meeting room on Monday and told him he can either get down on all fours and get leveled or take a package
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