< BACK TO PRESS RELEASES LISTING
Tuesday, November 03, 2009LIBRA SECURITIES JOINS HOULIHAN LOKEY
Jess Ravich Joins as a Managing Director and Head of Debt Capital Markets
NEW YORK, New York – November 3, 2009 – Houlihan Lokey, an international investment bank, announced today that it has significantly enhanced its ability to provide debt financing solutions for its clients with the addition of all of the Libra Securities professionals. Founded and headed by Jess Ravich, Libra has been providing innovative financing solutions to clients for more than 18 years with a focus on raising capital for the gaming industry, with such notable clients as Bally’s Park Place, Boyd Gaming and Horseshoe Gaming.
Mr. Ravich, who joins Houlihan Lokey as a managing director and head of Debt Capital Markets, brings a unique combination of capital markets experience coupled with the entrepreneurial experience of building a successful investment bank.
Commenting on these hires, Jeff Werbalowsky, Co-CEO of Houlihan Lokey, said, “We are excited to have Jess and the Libra team on board. Our middle market clients need capital in this recovering economy. With the skills and experience Jess brings to our firm and our busy financing team, we are looking forward to making a lot of those clients very happy through creative sale or financing solutions.”
Mr. Ravich said, “Houlihan Lokey is known as a premier advisor of clients in all areas of corporate finance. Their industry-driven, senior-focused approach to investment banking strongly aligns with our own, and we believe that their client base will benefit from our full range of financing expertise. We look forward to merging our teams as we continue to serve existing and new clients.”
Mr. Ravich was founder, president and CEO of Libra Securities with supervision over sales, trading and capital markets and corporate finance transactions. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of the fixed income department at Jefferies & Company. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Ravich was at Drexel Burnham Lambert where he was a member of the Executive Committee of the high yield group and shared responsibility for running high yield trading from 1988 until Drexel closed in 1990. Mr. Ravich is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, as well as editor of The Harvard Law Review.
Houlihan Lokey is an international investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, and valuation serving clients for 40 years. The firm is ranked globally as the No. 1 restructuring advisor, the No. 1 M&A fairness opinion advisor over the past 10 years, and the No. 1 M&A advisor for U.S. transactions under $1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Houlihan Lokey has 14 offices and more than 800 employees in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm serves more than 1,000 clients each year, ranging from closely held companies to Global 500 corporations.
For press inquiries, contact Dennis Moore at 310.788.5364.
It is not known whether the listed clients approve or disapprove of Houlihan Lokey or the advisory services provided.
