SAE International Expands Global Footprint with Acquisition of SMi Group Ltd
SMi Group Will Merge with Tech Briefs Media Group to Form SAE Media Group
WARRENDALE, Pa. (February 3, 2020) – SAE International announced today the acquisition of SMi Group Ltd, a United Kingdom-based company that specializes in the production of global events for the aerospace, defense and medical/pharmaceutical sectors. As part of the acquisition, SAE International will merge SMi Group with Tech Briefs Media Group (TBMG) to form the SAE Media Group. By combining the synergies of SMi’s global event footprint with TBMG’s publication reach, the SAE Media Group can achieve aggressive global expansion goals to improve the organization’s service and content offerings to a wider audience.
David Schutt, Chief Executive Officer of the SAE Group, welcomed SMi, noting that the acquisition enhances SAE’s global position in the aerospace, defense and medical markets through SMi’s unique range of events and content.
“As an organization, we have historically expanded through a strategic M&A approach, so this move helps us achieve our global goals,” said Raman Venkatesh, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SAE International. “The formation of the new SAE Media Group directly supports the priorities and focus of the larger SAE organization, and helps us leverage our broad capabilities.”
SMi Group specializes in coordinating high-level events within its target industries that convene influential thought leaders with speakers to learn, engage and network on the topics most pressing to industry. TBMG, an existing SAE International company, offers a diverse set of print and electronic media resources that deliver unparalleled coverage of the design engineering market across multiple disciplines.
“The formation of the singular SAE Media Group takes full advantage of the synergies of two unique properties,” added Joe Pramberger, who will now serve as the President of the SAE Media Group. “As the SAE Media Group integrates itself in the larger SAE organization, we will continue to find opportunities to improve and further align our go-to-market strategies.”
Dale Butler, Managing Director of SMi Group, said: “The expanded SAE Media Group will provide increased diversity of content and allow us to serve SMi Group’s customers and clients with new, innovative products and services, while maximizing growth, synergies and scale opportunities across our combined international products. We are excited about the next chapter of our evolution as a leading producer of specialist business-to-business conferences and look forward to growing as part of the SAE Media Group.”
The acquisition of SMi Group Ltd was approved and finalized by the SAE Board of Directors in January 2020.
About SAE International
SAE International is a global association committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. More at www.sae.org.