
Houlihan Lokey poaches Nielen Schuman’s Theys to open up Antwerp office

Advisory firm Houlihan Lokey has hired David Theys as a managing director with a remit to cover the Belgian market via its newly opened Antwerp office, according to a statement.
Theys joins from Nielen Schuman, a Benelux corporate finance boutique, where he spent five years leading its operations. Prior to that, he was a partner at Clairfield Benelux. He began his career at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley covering the Belgian market.
“We have been active in Benelux for many years through our Amsterdam office, but with Belgium now representing approximately 30% of the overall Benelux M&A market, this is the right time to build a thriving Belgian practice as part of our continued expansion in Europe,” Rob Oudman, head of Benelux told Unquote.
“As well as corporate divestment activity, Belgium is home to a growing number of world-class companies across a wide range of sectors, many of which are backed by private equity - which is a market in which we excel,” Oudman added.
Houlihan Lokey has been present in the Benelux region since opening the Amsterdam office in 2015. The firm has advised on more than 50 transactions in the region over the past six years.
Most recently, the team advised Enhesa, a regulatory and sustainability software, on the sale of a minority investment from Bregal Sagemount; the sale of cloud specialist NetRom Software to Investcorp; and the sale of valves and regulators manufacturer VTI to Pinova Capital.
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