Benzinga·2025-09-19 13:37Group 1 - Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. have expanded their global strategic alliance, enhancing cooperation in capital markets, lending, and sponsor coverage [1][3] - The new agreement includes a plan to merge wholesale Japanese equity research, sales, trading, and equity capital markets units, aiming to create a top-tier platform for institutional clients [2][3] - SMBC intends to increase its stake in Jefferies from 15% to as much as 20% through open market acquisitions, pending regulatory approval [3] Group 2 - SMBC will provide approximately $2.5 billion in new credit facilities to support activities such as EMEA leveraged lending, U.S. pre-IPO financing, and asset-backed securitization [4] - The collaboration aims to deliver optimal financing and advisory solutions globally, as stated by Toru Nakashima, CEO of SMFG [4] - Following the announcement, Jefferies shares experienced a premarket increase of 0.92%, trading at $71.01 [4]