Introduction to SMI Group
SMI Group is a private Los Angeles-based management consultant, investment bank and registered investment advisor that participates in creating and building companies, joint ventures and other business opportunities. Our professionals have led multinational businesses with more than 30,000 employees, and closed more than $50 billion of complex transactions. We lead or participate in guiding the strategy, business development, growth, management and liquidity events of businesses. We provide investment banking services for some of these businesses and other clients, with a focus on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, other business combinations and dispositions, complex licenses, strategic investments and financings.
- SMI Group LLC creates businesses, business opportunities and strategic alliances globally, with a focus on Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. SMI Group LLC also advises public and private businesses, and NGOs on strategy, marketing, organization, management and operations. SMI Group LLC has two subsidiaries, SMI Capital Markets LLC and SMI Advisors LLC.
- SMI Capital Markets LLC is an investment bank registered as a broker-dealer with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). SMI Capital Markets provides licensed investment banking services in the United States, focused on mergers and acquisitions and private placements, particularly for strategic investments.
- SMI Advisors LLC is a registered investment advisor that provides a platform for managing funds.
- SMI-Boulevard Group is a collaboration between SMI Group and Boulevard Capital Partners, an international financial firm that invests in, and manages, portfolio companies, particularly in Asia, the Middle East and South America. This collaboration considerably expands the business scope and resources of its participants.
- Through HanoverWest-SMI, a collaboration between HanoverWest LLC and an affiliate of SMI Group, we have access to opportunities in Africa. HanoverWest-SMI provides advice to private and public sector clients, primarily in Africa.
Directly and through our international collaborations, we participate in creating, acquiring and building businesses and business opportunities. We provide strategic advice in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Inclusive of our collaborations, we have professionals based in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
References in this website to “SMI Group” refer collectively (and only) to SMI Group LLC, SMI Capital Markets LLC, SMI Advisors LLC, and their participation in SMI-Boulevard. HanoverWest-SMI is a separate venture that provides opportunities for SMI Group.
Experience and Success Demonstrated by Our Founders
SMI Group was formed by successful professionals with broad experience in creating, growing, re-invigorating, managing and advising organizations to build value. Our professionals have led businesses ranging from multi-national corporations with thousands of employees to start-ups with fewer than 10 employees and have closed transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $50 billion, managed funds with billions of dollars of assets and led or advised companies and projects with many billions of dollars of revenues and capital investment.
Our professionals have served as managers, directors and officers of a broad range of public and private businesses and investment funds in numerous sectors.
Transactions closed by our professionals include multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, mergers and financings for high-profile multi-national corporations, more modestly-sized transactions for start-ups, microcap and small-cap companies, and real estate transactions of nearly every size and complexity.
Our international scope is evident from the diversity and the breadth of our professionals and our international collaborations.
Our Professionals
Iconic companies and assets sold or acquired by our professionals include, among many others: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists, MGM Grand, Bally’s, Desert Inn (now Wynn Hotel), Sands (now, the Venetian), Dunes (now Bellagio), Earls Court/Olympia (largest exhibition center in London), MITEC (largest exhibition center in Malaysia), Metro Traffic Networks, Premiere Radio Networks and major infrastructure projects throughout Southeast Asia.
Multinational companies our professionals led, or served in other senior board and executive positions, include Gartner Inc., Electronic Data Systems (now DXC Technology), Hewlett-Packard Company, Korn/Ferry International, MGM/UA Communications Co., Metro Traffic Networks, BPGbio Inc., John Paul Mitchell Systems and numerous consumer products, entertainment, finance, media, technology, healthcare, advertising and marketing companies and ventures primarily operating in North America, Europe and Asia.
Other leading companies advised by our professionals for significant business initiatives or transactions include, among many others large and small: AT&T, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Dentsu Advertising, Deutsche Bank, Preferred Bank, Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Netscape Communications Corporation, Novell Corporation, Westwood One, Resorts World, Reuters, Tata Group and Texas Instruments.
Our Approach Maximizes Achievable Value
We maximize achievable value by combining business experience and acumen with operating, financial and legal expertise. We identify opportunities and impediments, resolve complex operating, legal, financial and structural dilemmas, create or acquire attractive businesses, and divest non-core assets.
SMI Group’s professionals partner with owners and C-suite executives to resolve crises, structure and execute complex transactions, and develop and execute strategies for transformational growth. SMI-Capital Markets participates in these efforts by providing investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions, and financings.
We work with investment bankers, entrepreneurs, law firms, accounting firms, institutional and individual investors, venture capitalists and operating businesses in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Leveraging this broad international network, we focus on cross-border business opportunities and transactions.
SMI Group’s professionals have lived and worked in many countries. Their diverse knowledge and perspective of cultures, local markets and regulatory requirements provides customized advice usually available only from considerably larger and more costly global consulting firms. Sectors in which SMI Group professionals have considerable expertise include:
Securities License and Investment Advisor Registration
Activities in the United States for which a securities license is required generally are undertaken by SMI Capital Markets, our wholly-owned U.S. investment banking subsidiary. SMI Capital Markets is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Where appropriate, SMI Group also may engage or introduce other licensed broker-dealers to lead or participate in investment banking transactions.
Activities in the United States for which an investment advisor registration or license is required generally are undertaken by SMI Advisors, our investment advisor subsidiary registered in Washington. Where appropriate, SMI Group also may engage or introduce other registered investment advisors to participate in transactions.