Expertise

DALDEWOLF Africa

DRC – Corporate & Project Finance

DALDEWOLF and its Kinshasa office provide clients with advice and assistance with respect to corporate finance, as well as in the structuring of project finance, particularly in the mining, energy and infrastructure sectors in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DALDEWOLF offers its clients a service based on the concept of “one-stop shopping”. In other words, we take care of the project management, including the supervision and coordination of the various parties involved in the transaction (accountants, consultants, financiers, valuers, etc.). In addition to greater convenience for the client, the concept of “one-stop shopping” allows for greater efficiency in the implementation of a project.

DALDEWOLF has also established a pool of experts (including both its own specialist lawyers and external consultants) to provide professional services (consultants, lawyers, accountants, patent agents, valuers, investment banks, – involved in a corporate or project finance transaction -, vis-à-vis buyers/sellers/licensees, regulators and other authorities).

DALDEWOLF’s added value in corporate finance or project finance projects consists of a unique combination of :

  • In-depth knowledge of the mining, energy and infrastructure sectors in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
  • Our legal and tax expertise, including OHADA law;
  • A strategic vision;
  • Creativity (by adopting an out-of-the-box approach); and
  • An extensive network of contacts at the highest level in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
  • Pursuing a value creation objective.

CORPORATE FINANCE

DALDEWOLF assists and advises its clients with respect to corporate finance, namely for transactions in which existing capital is utilised and new capital raised in order to create, develop and grow new projects and ventures, and to acquire other businesses. Corporate finance transactions often lead to the creation of new capital structures and/or change of ownership.

The types of corporate finance activity for which DALDEWOLF can assist its clients in the DRC are as follows:

  • Mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and demergers involving private companies;
  • Mergers, demergers and takeovers of public companies, including public-to-private deals;
  • Refinancings;
  • Management buy-outs, buy-ins or similar of companies, divisions or subsidiaries – typically backed by private equity;
  • Raising capital via the issuance of equity, debt, hybrids of the two, and related securities for the refinancing and restructuring of businesses;
  • Listing of companies on a recognised stock exchange by way of an initial public offering (IPO);
  • Financing and structuring joint ventures ;
  • Structuring infrastructure finance;
  • Advising on public-private partnerships and privatisations;
  • Structuring of capital raising for specialist corporate investment funds, such as private equity, venture capital, debt, real estate and infrastructure funds;
  • Secondary equity issuance, whether by means of private placing or further issues on a stock market, especially where linked to one of the transactions listed above;
  • Raising and restructuring private corporate debt or debt funds.

The pool of experts gathered by DALDEWOLF can provide the following professional services:

  • Project management, i.e. the direction, coordination and supervision of the various service providers;
  • Assessment of the local regulatory environment for foreign investments;
  • Assistance in drafting the financial plan;
  • All legal, accounting and tax aspects;
  • Assistance in obtaining all necessary permits, authorisations and licences from the authorities (investment, antitrust, etc);
  • Negotiations with banks and investors;
  • Drafting of all contracts, letters of intent, deeds and other contractual documents.

PROJECT FINANCE

Project Finance is the financing of infrastructure, industrial or utility projects through a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure. The debt and equity used to finance the project is repaid from the cash flows generated by the project. The assets, rights and interests in the project secure the debt. The Project Finance technique is particularly interesting for the private sector, as companies can finance large off-balance sheet projects.

DALDEWOLF’s clients can be any party involved in a project financing, be it the project owner itself, the concession authority, an offtaker, an investor, a bank, a leasing company or any other actor in the project.

The pool of experts gathered by DALDEWOLF can provide the following professional services:

  • Project management, i.e. the direction, coordination and supervision of the various service providers (consultants, lawyers, accountants, patent agents, valuers, investment banks, – involved in a corporate or project finance transaction -, vis-à-vis buyers/sellers/licensees, regulators and other authorities);
  • All legal, tax and accounting aspects related to the project;
  • Drafting of all contracts, letters of intent and other contractual documents;
  • Assessment of the local regulatory environment for foreign investments;
  • Assistance in obtaining all necessary permits, authorisations and licences from the authorities (investment, antitrust, construction, zoning, etc);
  • Negotiations with offtakers, leasing companies, banks and investors;
  • Assistance in drafting the business and financial plan;
  • Assistance in the negotiations in view of obtaining a concession;
  • Technology assessment and validation;
  • Financial evaluation of technologies at the request of their owners;
  • Risk management (identification, allocation and coverage of residual risks);
  • Project finance advice (including all legal and tax aspects);
  • All other project finance advice.

TEAM LEADERS

Patrick
De Wolf
Fabian
Tchékémian
Harold
Wouters

OTHERS MEMBERS OF THE TEAM

Laetitia
De Smet
Loïs
Dubu
Dodi
Kikunda Pisha
Emmanuel
van NUFFEL d'HEYNSBROECK
Samuel
NZOLANTIMA SANU