ARC Group

The company timeline gives this founding date. A tenth-anniversary interview names Abraham Cinta, Carlos Lopez, Jesus Hoyos and Crystal Zhang among the founders, with Sergio Camarero joining early. The initial focus was connecting Chinese businesses with US capital markets.⁠[2][3]

The company timeline records a Mexico City office in 2017 and its first Southeast Asian office in Singapore in 2018. The anniversary interview also describes this period as its early international expansion.⁠[2][3]

An SEC administrative law judge issued an initial default decision concerning registration statements of Go EZ, Arc Lifestyle and Nova Smart. It found that Nova Smart had inadequately disclosed associated individuals’ links to Arc Capital and promoter roles, discussing the involvement of Lopez and Cinta. Arc Lifestyle was a named registrant, distinct from the ARC Group advisory brand.⁠[4]

The SEC confirmed that the initial decision had become final and suspended the effectiveness of the three companies’ registration statements. The order concerned those registrants and filings; it did not revoke the later brokerage registration of ARC Group Securities.⁠[5]

An announcement preserved on the group’s website used the ARC Capital name for a planned April 9 SPAC conference in Mexico City, involving investment banking, legal and audit speakers. It records the earlier brand and the proposed event, rather than independently confirming attendance.⁠[6]

The company’s anniversary account identifies advising Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) as a major engagement. DWAC later merged with Trump Media & Technology GroupTrump Media & Technology GroupTrump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is a publicly traded company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. It operates Truth Social, the Truth+ streaming service and the Truth.Fi financial technology brand. The private company was formed in 2021 and completed its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) in 2024. A separate proposed merger with fusion-energy company TAE Technologies remained subject to the filing and approval process in late September 2026.Open the full entry, closing on March 25, 2024. The advisory group, the SPAC and shareholder representative ARC Global Investments II LLC occupied different transaction roles.⁠[3][7]

The company announced acquisition of Norient Advisors to strengthen M&A advisory between Asia and the Nordic region. Norient operated from Shanghai and provided China-related transaction and strategic support. The group’s website posted the announcement the following day.⁠[8]

ARC Group announced a share purchase agreement to acquire all of Asia Perspective for $12.8 million. The consultancy covered market entry, strategy, operations and cross-border M&A, with two partners to join ARC’s leadership.⁠[9]

The group announced an agreement to acquire a controlling profit-sharing interest in Luminous Capital, expanding its US presence through the private equity and advisory team. The specified interest was not described as all ordinary shares. Luminous’s areas of focus included the legal US cannabis industry.⁠[10]

ARC Group’s specific announcement dates completion to March 21, with a March 25 dateline and March 29 website posting. Objective Equity was a US broker-dealer, and the acquisition expanded the group’s US securities capabilities.⁠[11]

ARC Group Securities announced FINRA approval to operate as an underwriting broker-dealer in the United States, including IPOs and other public offerings. The approval was announced by the licensed subsidiary and applies to that entity’s activities.⁠[12]

ARC Group Acquisition I Corp. closed an offering of 12,075,000 units at $10 each, raising gross proceeds of $120.75 million. ARC Group Securities was the underwriters’ representative. Units began trading as ARCLU on April 30. The SPAC’s offering proceeds were not the advisory group’s revenue.⁠[13]

An official account published the next day confirmed the forum at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, covering overseas listings, financing and cross-border M&A. Participants represented investment banking, law, audit, investor relations and asset management.⁠[14]

A DealStreetAsia interview republished by the group reported nearly $100 million of proprietary capital made available to its Hong Kong multi-strategy team, with a further $50 million planned for deployment by year-end. These figures described in-house capital and plans, not an equivalent completed fundraising from outside clients; external investors remained a future direction.⁠[15]

The group maintains offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, Stockholm and other cities. Company announcements and a recent social post describe a Shanghai headquarters, while its LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry About field lists Hong Kong. The US brokerage subsidiary is registered with FINRA as ARC Group Securities LLC, CRD132026, with a principal office in Tempe, Arizona.⁠[16][17][18]

At verification, BrokerCheck listed two historical regulatory events under the Objective Equity name: suspensions for unpaid fees in 2019 and a late annual audit filing in 2020, lifted on July 31 and August 3, 2020 respectively. The summary reported no current regulatory suspension. These events preceded the acquisition announced by ARC in 2024.⁠[18][11]

ARC Group: Official website: https://arc-group.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

ARC Group Securities: Official website: https://arc-securities.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[12]

ARC Group: Official account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arc-group-limited/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]