Houlihan Sells Its Mergerstat Business

Los Angeles-based investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin has sold its Mergerstat Holdings business, which tracks merger-and-acquisition activity in the U.S. and Europe, to FactSet Research Systems Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., the companies said Thursday. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Mergerstat, which Houlihan Lokey said has grown substantially since the firm bought it from Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1995, will reach a much broader client base at FactSet, said Scott Dunfrund, director at Houlihan. The Mergerstat business has grown from four employees in 1995 to 25 today, Dunfrund said.

FactSet, which maintains more than 200 financial databases, plans to keep Mergerstat’s operations headquartered in Santa Monica, he said.

Houlihan was not shopping Mergerstat but received several offers for the business, said John Mavredakis, senior managing director of the company.