Bio

Mr. Gossels is a Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Technology Group and leads the firm’s digital media practice. Recent clients include VIX on its sale to Univision; The Second City on its sale to ZMC; Machine Zone on its sale to AppLovin; Vertical Networks on its sale to Whistle; Parcast on its sale to Spotify; SheKnows on its sale to Penske Media; Whistle Sports on its capital raise from Aser; Slacker on its sale to LivexLive; and PlayNetwork on its sale to TouchTunes. Mr. Gossels joined Houlihan Lokey in 2015 through the acquisition of his prior firm, MESA. He is based in the firm’s New York office. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Gossels was a Managing Director and Head of Digital Media at MESA, a merchant bank and advisory firm specializing in digital and traditional media transactions. As one of MESA’s five partners, his M&A clients included Songza on its sale to Google; Viacom on the spinoff of game assets Addicting Games/Shockwave to Defy Media; MOG on its sale to Beats by Dre; Grab on its sale to Blinkx; and Metrolyrics on its sale to CBS. Before MESA, Mr. Gossels was a Partner in the media practice at Montgomery & Co. and sector head for online entertainment, games, publishing, and social media. At Montgomery, his M&A clients included Club Penguin on its sale to Disney; DailyCandy on its sale to Comcast; UGO on its sale to Hearst; Grouper on its sale to Sony; iFilm on its sale to Viacom; and eCRUSH on its sale to Hearst. Prior to Montgomery & Co., Mr. Gossels was President and Chief Operating Officer of Hypnotic, where he played a central role in building the company into a leading digital media, film, and television company. Hypnotic’s film, TV, and branded entertainment credits included The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The O.C., Cry Wolf, and Terry Tate: Office Linebacker. Before Hypnotic, Mr. Gossels was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. (DLJ), where he worked on M&A, high-yield, and equity (IPO) transactions principally in the media space. Mr. Gossels holds a B.A. from Brown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.