As time went on, Smith’s approach to acquisitions evolved. From the early 1980s on, Smith and his team focused on the occasional, large opportunistic acquisition and on a series of minority investments in public companies that he believed to be undervalued. These investments were attempts at diversification through a strategy of what Smith termed investment with involvement, the idea being to make a sizable minority investment, take a seat on the board, and work with management to improve operations and increase value.
