Houlihan Smith and the Entire Fairness Standard
& Company has been successful in the investment banking field because the firm has found a special niche in the financial valuation, capital markets and Merger & Acquisition planning markets. Houlihan Smith has also been able to change with the market and offer services that are relevant to the current economy and adapted to the changing trends in the financial world. One example of this is how Houlihan Smith & Company was able to adapt to the increased pressure and scrutiny placed on boards of directors, special committees and key executives.
With increased pressure on the key officials of major companies, the Houlihan Smith team began offering fiduciary guidance for their clients. With more than 125 knowledgeable employees in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Houlihan Smith had the resources and the skills to put together the Houlihan Smith Compendia Series for the sole purpose of providing fiduciary guidance. The series is an assemblage of case law that draws attention to previous actions and judgments where fiduciaries breached their duty of care and duty of loyalty.
Included in the Houlihan Smith Compendia Series are the Fairness Compendium and the Solvency Compendium, which convey the stringent guidelines that fiduciaries must follow, such as the business judgment rule and the prevailing Entire Fairness Standard. This guideline pertains to situations where a transaction involves a conflict of interest contested by minority shareholders, and mandates that directors must prove the full fairness of the transaction. Houlihan Smith has been able to provide financial advisory services to many directors and fiduciaries in this situation, where it is necessary to take any measures possible in order to ensure that actions and judgments shift the burden of proof to shareholders.
Houlihan Smith can provide financial advisory services in many situations, including the formation of an independent and disinterested special committee to oversee and negotiate the transaction process where the Entire Fairness Standard applies.