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Investment Banker·RCM

Mark Francis

Managing Director, Global Co-Head of Healthcare at Houlihan Lokey

Dallas, Texas, USA

MF
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Why they matter

Runs Houlihan Lokey's global healthcare banking franchise; 200+ closed deals including RCM platforms XIFIN and ABILITY Network give him first-look visibility into revenue cycle sell-side processes.

Background

Mark Francis is a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Healthcare at Houlihan Lokey, based in Dallas, with nearly three decades of healthcare M&A and financial operations experience. He has closed more than 200 transactions spanning healthcare IT, revenue cycle, managed care, hospitals, homecare and hospice, and outsourced services, including deals for XIFIN, ABILITY Network, VITAS Healthcare, and Smile Brands. Before Houlihan Lokey he was Vice President of M&A for the home health division of Hospital Corporation of America, and he holds a B.B.A. in finance from Baylor University and is a CPA.

Notable deals

  • 2021
    Led Houlihan Lokey's launch of European healthcare coverage, recruiting a London team headed by Paul Tomasic from RBC Capital Markets to extend the firm's US healthcare franchise into Europe
  • 2024
    Expanded Houlihan Lokey's Healthcare Group with two senior managing director hires covering healthcare IT (Dudley Baker) and behavioral health (Kerr Robertson), quoted as group head on the strategy
  • 2023
    Featured expert on healthcare provider consolidation headwinds, explaining why large platforms paused add-on M&A amid valuation disconnects and predicting re-entry as credit conditions improved
  • 2024
    Guest on McDermott Will & Emery's 'Driving the Deal' podcast discussing the state of healthcare private equity, deal activity, and digital health's influence on M&A

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Healthcare at Houlihan Lokey, based in Dallas; nearly 30 years in healthcare M&A with 200+ closed transactions.
  • Deal history spans healthcare IT and RCM (XIFIN, ABILITY Network, MedHOK), hospice/homecare (VITAS, St. Croix-era hospice sector coverage), dental (Smile Brands, Midwest Dental), urgent care (CareNow), and managed care.
  • Former VP of M&A for HCA's home health division; Baylor B.B.A., CPA. Operator-turned-banker profile — speaks fluent P&L, not just multiples.

Current focus

  • Building out the global healthcare franchise: launched European coverage in 2021, added senior MDs in HCIT and behavioral health in January 2024.
  • Active voice on healthcare PE conditions — 2023–24 commentary on the valuation disconnect stalling platform add-on M&A and the re-opening of credit markets.

What he cares about

  • Operational quality over market timing: "Great companies get great valuations… if people don't feel good about the valuations, largely they're not trading."
  • League-table leadership in healthcare mid-cap M&A; sector depth as the differentiator.

Sensitivities

  • He is a sell-side banker: expects a two-way relationship (deal flow, buyer credibility), not free market intel. Avoid asking him to handicap live mandates.

Questions to ask

  1. Where are RCM platform valuations settling versus 2021–22 peaks, and which sub-segments (lab, physician, denials/AI) are clearing?
  2. Which RCM assets does he expect to come to market in the next 12–18 months?
  3. What separates the RCM companies that trade well from those that stall in diligence?

Outreach draft

Subject
RCM market perspective — brief call?
Dear Mark, I work with a private equity team building a thesis in healthcare revenue cycle management, and your name comes up repeatedly — both for the depth of the Houlihan Lokey healthcare franchise and your transaction history with platforms like XIFIN and ABILITY Network. We'd value 20 minutes to hear how you see the RCM landscape: where valuations are clearing, which sub-segments are attracting quality processes, and where a well-capitalized buyer could be genuinely useful to you. We're an active, credible acquirer and happy to share our pipeline perspective in return. Would a call in the next two weeks work? Best regards, [NAME]

Linked companies

Sources