Kema Partners
Kema Partners is a boutique investment bank founded in 2007 that provides M&A advisory, private capital raising, and strategic consulting services to emerging growth companies in technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries, operating from five US offices as an SEC-registered broker-dealer.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersMill Valley, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kema Partners does
Kema Partners is a boutique investment bank founded in 2007 by Howard and Michael Cann and headquartered in Mill Valley, California, with additional offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Tampa. The firm is a registered broker-dealer with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC, providing strategic advisory and private capital raising services to emerging growth companies in the technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries, both domestically and globally. Service lines are organized around Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory (sales, divestitures, acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures, and special situations), Private Capital Solutions (raising from venture capital, growth equity, private equity, finance companies, hedge funds, mezzanine, and alternative capital sources), and Strategic Consulting (plan development, new business development, and product/service repositioning).
The firm operates a partner-led delivery model with senior principals directly executing each mandate rather than delegating execution to junior teams, and positions itself as having worked across advisory, operating, and investing sides of transactions. Reported track record includes Michael Cann's $17 billion in aggregate transaction experience at the firm and prior roles including 11 years at Banc of America Securities, Howard Cann's $3 billion+ in non-conventional financing arranged prior to founding, and the firm's cumulative "hundreds of transactions" closed.
Kema Partners operates as a professional services business with three integrated core products and does not appear to maintain proprietary technology platforms or software products. Revenue is generated on a transaction-fee and retainer basis (not publicly disclosed), with go-to-market driven by direct senior-banker client engagement, referral networks, and the firm's professional website. Customer base spans emerging growth companies across four targeted verticals, with no specific named customer logos disclosed in the available data. The firm is privately held with no parent company or affiliated entities, and is led by Managing Partners Howard Cann, Peter Cann, and Michael Cann.
Kema Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kema Partners
- Legal name
- KEMA Partners Inc.
- Website
- https://kemapartners.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kema Partners is a boutique investment bank founded in 2007 that provides M&A advisory, private capital raising, and strategic consulting services to emerging growth companies in technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries, operating from five US offices as an SEC-registered broker-dealer.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kema Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Investment Banking
- NAICS
- Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (52315), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)
- SIC
- Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB), Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE), Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)
Keywords
Where Kema Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mill Valley
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Kema Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory: Advisory fees from strategic transactions including sales, divestitures, acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures and special situations.
- Private Capital Solutions: Capital raising fees from facilitating private capital alternatives including venture capital, growth equity, private equity, finance companies, hedge funds, mezzanine funds, and alternative capital sources.
- Strategic Consulting: Fees for strategic and operational consulting services including strategic plan development, new business development, and repositioning of key products and services.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Kema Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KEMA Partners is a boutique investment bank that provides Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Private Capital Solutions, and Strategic Consulting services to emerging growth companies. The firm advises on strategic transactions including sales, divestitures, acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures, and special situations, while sourcing private capital from venture, growth equity, private equity, hedge, mezzanine, and alternative capital providers. Engagements are led by senior principals across technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries.
Product overview
Kema Partners operates as a unified investment banking service offering three integrated core products: Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Private Capital Solutions, and Strategic Consulting. The firm is not a technology platform with separate modules; rather, it delivers advisory services through senior principals who work across all three service areas to provide comprehensive financial and strategic advisory to emerging growth companies in technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory
- Private Capital Solutions
- Strategic Consulting
Companies that use Kema Partners
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Kema Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kema Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Kema Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cascadia Capital: Seattle-based boutique investment bank focused on M&A and capital raising for emerging growth companies in technology, clean-tech, and life sciences. Highly comparable sector coverage and emerging growth client profile to KEMA Partners.
- FocalPoint Partners: Los Angeles-based boutique investment bank offering M&A, capital raising, and strategic advisory to middle-market companies. Comparable boutique advisory model and emerging growth client focus.
- PMCF (now part of Stout): Boutique investment bank providing M&A advisory and capital raising services to middle-market companies across multiple sectors. Comparable boutique advisory services and mid-cap emerging growth target market.
- GP Bullhound: Global boutique investment bank specializing in technology, media, and digital advisory with M&A and capital raising services. Closely matches KEMA's technology/media focus and emerging growth target market.
- Headwaters MB: Boutique investment bank focused on M&A and capital raising for technology and consumer companies. Similar mid-market emerging growth positioning and senior-led execution model to KEMA.
Broad incumbents
- Jefferies: Mid-market focused full-service investment bank with strong technology, healthcare and clean-tech coverage. Competes with KEMA in the same emerging growth verticals but offers the full spectrum of capital markets and advisory services.
- Cowen (TD Cowen): Technology and healthcare-focused investment bank offering M&A and capital raising services. Strongly overlapping technology and life sciences coverage with KEMA but at substantially larger scale.
- William Blair: Mid-market investment bank with strong technology, life sciences and consumer coverage. Comparable sector overlap with KEMA but with significantly broader service offerings and global reach.
- Robert W. Baird: Diversified mid-market investment bank with active technology and life sciences practices. Overlaps with KEMA in emerging growth M&A and capital raising but operates across many additional sectors at significantly larger scale.
- Houlihan Lokey: Large global investment bank with strong M&A and capital markets practices serving middle-market and emerging growth companies. Overlaps significantly with KEMA's service offerings but at substantially greater scale across more sectors.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kema Partners compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Kema Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kema Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Kema Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kema Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kema Partners
What does Kema Partners do?
KEMA Partners is a boutique investment bank that provides Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Private Capital Solutions, and Strategic Consulting services to emerging growth companies. The firm advises on strategic transactions including sales, divestitures, acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures, and special situations, while sourcing private capital from venture, growth equity, private equity, hedge, mezzanine, and alternative capital providers. Engagements are led by senior principals across technology, media, life sciences, and clean-tech industries.
Is Kema Partners a public or private company?
Kema Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kema Partners founded?
Kema Partners was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kema Partners based?
Kema Partners is headquartered in Mill Valley, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kema Partners make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory is the primary driver. The others are private Capital Solutions and strategic Consulting.
Who are Kema Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cascadia Capital, FocalPoint Partners, PMCF (now part of Stout), GP Bullhound and Headwaters MB. Broad incumbents are Jefferies, Cowen (TD Cowen), William Blair, Robert W. Baird and Houlihan Lokey.
Does Kema Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kema Partners.
What industry is Kema Partners in?
Kema Partners's product category is Investment Banking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHADAG, Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital), with a secondary code of BPAHADAB, Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory. Its NAICS code is 52315 and its SIC code is 6211.