SMBC to Raise Stake in Jefferies Financial to as Much as 20%
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Sep 19 2025
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Expansion of Strategic Alliance: Jefferies Financial and SMBC Group are significantly expanding their strategic alliance, which began in 2021, to enhance collaboration in corporate and investment banking, particularly focusing on M&A, equity, and debt capital markets.
Increased Investment and Support: SMBC Group plans to increase its equity ownership in Jefferies to up to 20% and provide approximately $2.5 billion in new credit facilities to support various collaborative efforts, including leveraged lending and asset-backed securitization, pending regulatory approvals.
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Analyst Views on JEF
Wall Street analysts forecast JEF stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for JEF is 72.79 USD with a low forecast of 55.00 USD and a high forecast of 97.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
5 Analyst Rating
4 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 61.850
Low
55.00
Averages
72.79
High
97.00
Current: 61.850
Low
55.00
Averages
72.79
High
97.00
About JEF
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is a global, full-service investment banking and capital markets company. The Company provides financial advisory, equity underwriting and debt underwriting services. Its business segments include Investment Banking and Capital Markets and Asset Management. The Investment Banking and Capital Markets segment includes its securities, commodities, futures, and foreign exchange capital markets activities and its investment banking business, which provides underwriting and financial advisory services to clients across various industry sectors in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The Asset Management segment provides alternative investment management services to investors in the United States and overseas and generates investment income from capital invested in and managed by the Company or its affiliated asset managers. It provides mergers and acquisition, debt advisory and restructuring and private capital advisory services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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