Houlihan Lokey acquired Black Stone IP, a boutique investment bank focused on valuing and trading patent and other intellectual property assets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2013, BSIP focuses exclusively on Tech+IP advisory. Its services include technology and IP valuations, developing and executing strategic IP transactions, IP-focused M&A advisory, and IP-backed capital formation and restructuring. Since its founding, BSIP has executed more than 100 transaction and advisory projects for clients that span North America, Europe and East Asia. BSIP’s client list includes more than 30 Fortune 500 companies and recognized innovators such as Avaya, Broadcom, Dolby, General Electric, Philips, Siemens, SAP, Sony, MediaTek, Lenovo and Yahoo!.
BSIP will become part of Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Advisory Services, operating as the Tech+IP Advisory practice, and will be co-headed by BSIP CEO Elvir Causevic, and Edmund Fish. The Tech+IP Advisory practice will include staff based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., serving clients across the globe.
“Intellectual property is increasingly regarded as an asset class deserving the attention of boards and investors across many industry sectors, and companies are recognizing that significant value exists in these assets,” said Jack Berka, global head of Financial Advisory Services. “BSIP has honed best practices from industry leaders to establish a leading Tech+IP platform comprising valuation and transaction advisory.”