Bio of Bame Pule
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Bio of Bame Pule Bame Pule is the founder of Africa Lighthouse Capital (“ALC”), an independent Mauritius-based private equity firm founded in 2012 to invest in and nurture businesses into African champions. ALC not only provides financial capital, but also contributes significant human and intellectual capital in order to improve the operations and strategy of investee companies resulting in considerable increases in value for all stakeholders. The firm has a particular focus on helping investee companies adopt global best practices regardless of sector, attain benchmarks equivalent to those of global peers, and expand into multiple key African markets. Sectors in which ALC has done deals include oil services, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, cargo rail logistics, and online direct marketing. The multi-faceted investment approach of Africa Lighthouse Capital leverages the experiences, expertise, and networks developed by Mr. Pule since embarking on his investment career in 1998 in California. In 2017, ALC was awarded $50m by the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund for a pan-African private equity investment strategy. Prior to founding Africa Lighthouse Capital, Mr. Pule spent six years (2006-2012) working at Actis Capital. Actis Capital is the largest private equity firm in the world (London-based) that invests exclusively in emerging markets and is the largest private equity firm investing in Africa. While at Actis Capital, Mr. Pule spent 3 years living and working in Lagos, Nigeria and 6 months living and working in Cairo, Egypt. The rest of the time, Mr. Pule was based in Johannesburg, but worked both in South Africa and extensively throughout Africa. Mr. Pule’s transactions at Actis Capital included an investment in the largest mattress manufacturer in Nigeria (Mouka Foam); a diversified logistics firm in South Africa (RTT); and an oil & gas company and oil pipeline in Nigeria (Seven Energy). Mr. Pule served on the boards of Mouka, RTT, and Seven Energy. While serving on the boards, Mr. Pule led several value-adding initiatives. For example, at RTT, his activities included helping to restructure the company’s operations and negotiating with banks regarding restructuring the company’s balance sheet. At Mouka, Mr. Pule’s board activities included helping the company execute on growth initiatives including establishing new distribution channels and capacity expansion. At Seven Energy, Mr. Pule led efforts to build a gas pipeline on time and on budget. Prior to joining Actis Capital, Mr. Pule began his private equity career at ShoreView Capital in the United States. Mr. Pule worked on four successful investments during his two years (2002-2004) at ShoreView Capital. All investments returned several times the original equity capital invested. One of Mr. Pule’s key contributions to portfolio companies at ShoreView Capital was identifying bolt-on acquisition opportunities for existing portfolio companies and then arranging the financing and execution of the acquisitions. Mr. Pule also structured incentive programs for management of investee companies. Prior to joining ShoreView Capital, Mr. Pule spent two years (2000-2002) working at Goldman Sachs in New York. At Goldman Sachs, Mr. Pule worked in the Investment Banking Division and specialized in providing corporate finance advice to financial services companies. His clients included banks, insurance companies, asset management firms, and financial technology companies. Mr. Pule’s advisory mandates included mergers and acquisitions, debt capital raising, and equity capital raising. Mr. Pule successfully completed four transactions at Goldman Sachs. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Pule spent 3 months (June-August 1999) working in the Project Finance division at Credit Suisse in New York as part of a selective internship program (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity). Mr. Pule helped in arranged financing for major infrastructure projects (power plants and roads) in the United States. Prior to working at Credit Suisse, Mr. Pule began his career in the investment world by spending a year and a half working at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup in Los Angeles (1998-1999). Mr. Pule constructed and analyzed investment portfolios. Mr. Pule has Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science (double major) from Pomona College in Claremont, California (1996-2000). Mr. Pule was awarded the Pomona Scholar prize for superior academic achievement in 1997 and 1999. Mr. Pule also has a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts (2004-2006). Mr. Pule served on the ExCo of the Africa Business Club at Harvard Business School. BAME PULE Email: [email protected] Phone: +27 78 513 7714 Experience 2012 - AFRICA LIGHTHOUSE CAPITAL JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Present Private equity firm focused on investments in key sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa Founder Founded the firm. Actively originating and evaluating investment opportunities. Fundraising for investments. 2006-2012 ACTIS CAPITAL JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / LAGOS, NIGERIA / CAIRO, EGYPT $2.9B Global Emerging Markets Fund III with a $1B target allocation to Africa Investment Principal, Africa Fund (promoted from Associate in 2008) Experience across sectors including Consumer, Financial Services, Industrials and Business Services. Deal Responsibilities Sourcing: Built relationships with advisors, business owners and management teams across Africa to source investments. Execution: Led transaction execution including seller negotiations, legal documentation, and managing due diligence processes. Led debt capital raising, lender negotiations, and debt structuring for transactions. Selected Deal Experience: closed 2 platform deals: Fuel Logistics/RTT (buyout) and Mouka Foam (growth), a sale exit process, and three debt refinancings /restructurings (see Deal Sheet for additional details). Portfolio Responsibilities Served on 3 boards and engaged with management teams to drive value-creation initiatives. Led execution of add-on acquisitions and exits from existing investments. Fundraising/LP Relationship Management Presented the “Africa story” to LPs and led LP visits to portfolio companies. Primary contact for many U.S. and European LPs curious about Africa private equity. Spoke at conferences, such as Legatum Convergence, on issues pertaining to investment in Africa. Active in China-Africa initiatives – member of South African delegation on State Visit to China in August 2010. Primarily based in Johannesburg; but also lived and worked in Lagos and Cairo. 2002-2004 SHOREVIEW CAPITAL MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA $300M U.S. Private Equity Fund Associate Evaluated the strategic and financial merits of investments in a variety of sectors including: consumer products, industrial products, business services, life sciences, and value-added distribution. Deal & Portfolio Responsibilities Sourcing: Identified and successfully advocated for specific industries (industrial products) to be targeted for investment; developed relationships with investment bankers and business brokers to source investment opportunities. Execution: Evaluated financing packages, supervised financial due diligence, and conducted commercial due diligence; built template financial model and operational reporting model to monitor performance of portfolio companies. Selected Deal Experience: Completed 2 successful buyouts (including 1 platform with 2 add-on acquisitions) as key member of deal team: (see Deal Sheet for additional details) Portfolio: Liaised with top executives at portfolio companies to review operations, strategy, and add-ons. 2000-2002 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA Analyst, Investment Banking Division – Financial Institutions Group Advised banks, insurance companies, and asset management firms on mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity capital raises. Prepared in-depth valuations and strategic reviews; prepared extensive pitches for prospective clients. Completed 4 transactions as key member of deal team: 2 sell-side M&A mandates and 2 IPOs. Education 2004-2006 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA Master in Business Administration degree, June 2006. Served on ExCo of Africa Business Club. Member of Venture Capital & Private Equity Club, Entrepreneurship Club, and Arts Appreciation Society. 1996-2000 POMONA COLLEGE CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, USA Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Politics (double major), May 2000. Honors: Pomona College Scholar – 1996-97, 1998-99. Personal Conversant in Mandarin Chinese. Interests: mentoring, world travel, golf, fine arts, wine, international relations, basketball, soccer. BAME PULE Email: [email protected] Phone: +27 78 513 7714 KEY TRANSACTION EXPERIENCE COMPLETED TRANSACTIONS at ACTIS CAPITAL September 2011: Seven Energy – Exit of Loan Note (Nigeria) $35m. Led all aspects of exit process. Engaged sell-side investment bankers. Recommended best structure to maximize attractiveness of asset. Managed investment committee process/presentations. Identified acquirers for the buyer list. Assisted in preparation of teaser and investment memorandum. Met with prospective buyers to position the asset for sale. Engaged with the company and the board to procure approvals for the sale. Determined walk away price. Negotiated SPA, Disclosure Schedule, and CP list with the buyer. Negotiated representations and warranties with the company. Managed legal and financial advisors. Received the Senior Partner Award