Schaeffler appoints Houlihan Lokey as advisor

FRANKFURT, July 7 (Reuters) - German ball-bearing maker Schaeffler said on Tuesday that it had appointed investment bank Houlihan Lokey as an adviser to help it restructure its finances.

Schaeffler last year launched a hostile $18 billion bid to buy automotive parts supplier Continental AG (CONG.DE), a company three times its size, but ended up lumbered with a heavy debt pile as car sales collapsed.

"To restructure its finances along with finding a long-term overall solution the Schaeffler group is seeking the advice of a number of experts and has appointed investment bank Houlihan Lokey," a company spokesman said, confirming a report due to be published in Wednesday's edition of the Financial Times Deutschland.

"We are working with our banks and with Houlihan Lokey on a long-term solution," the spokesman said, adding: "We have enough time for that."

Houlihan Lokey is also advising private equity companies Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co [KKR.UL] and Permira on the reorganisation of finances of their Lavena unit, several persons familiar with the situation told Reuters in March.

Lavena holds the companies' stake in German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat1 Media AG (PSMG_p.DE). (Reporting by Nicola Leske and Arno Schuetze; editing by Simon Jessop)