Houlihan Lokey Muscles Into Sovereign-Debt Advisory Business

Houlihan Lokey Inc. is opening a practice to advise governments on sovereign-debt challenges as the investment bank looks to compete with rivals for restructuring mandates beyond the corporate world.

David Gadmer, who spent 20 years on Lazard Inc.’s sector-leading team, has joined Houlihan’s Paris office and will lead the new initiative to advise sovereign entities. Last year, he left Lazard, where he recently helped advise the governments of Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana.

Houlihan is the second recent entrant into the influential world of sovereign restructuring, where debt-laden countries negotiate with their creditors and institutions for relief. There are ...