dcs advisory Experts team

equity capital fundraising





Daniel Dean

Vienna, Austria

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Victor Saltão

Atlanta, USA





Pierce Kirby

Boston, USA





Chris Hanson

Lewes DE, USA





James Weiss

Vienna, Austria






Meet Our Equity Capital Fundraising Experts Team!


capital fundraising services

equity fundraising SERVICES

WHAT WE DO

SERVICES WE OFFER

DCS equity capital fundraising services is highly relevant to many of the client we serve across the core sectoral areas that we focus on, including the infrastructure, energy & utilities, industrials, oil & gas and real estate sectors.  Equity fundraising services are a complementary and an integral component of many of our comprehensive transaction advisory services advisory mandates.  ​Many DCS affiliate experts are former investment bankers, lawyers and corporate executives who possess decades of experience in structuring and executing private equity and equity capital markets transactions.


Our equity fundraising product and service categories are as follows:


  • Private Equity.  Private equity transactions are highly relevant within all the sectors that we cover and are complementary and integral to many of other capital fundraising services that we offer.  In some cases, we assist public or private companies or investment funds (such as infrastructure funds) identify suitable private equity investors in effort to raise sufficient capital required for core business activities, acquisitions, project developments or repurchasing publicly traded shares.  Within each of our focus sectors we maintain relationships with a wide array of potential private equity investors ranging from infrastructure funds, pensions, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, multilaterals, strategic companies, special purpose companies, governmental entities, private equity investors, venture capital investors & high net worth families, individuals and trusts.  We represent either the "sell side" target investment or the "buy side" investor.  We are ideally situated to provide added value to both our "sell side" or "buy side" clients.  In the case of our "sell side" advisory mandates, we can assist our clients in first determining whether a negotiated process a limited-auction process, or a full competitive auction process is most appropriate.  In the case that we are mandated to advise an investor or group of investors on the "buy side", we will first assist the determining whether the target investment is a suitable and optimal investment, given their investment mandate.  Given our presence in the geographical and sectoral markets that we cover, we are ideally positioned to provide our clients with insight on numerous comparable investment opportunities and determine which opportunities are most suitable.  After it is confirmed that a particular investment target is the most suitable for our client, we will assist the client in optimally structuring, negotiating and executing the transaction.  In some cases, as appropriate, we may further assist our "buy side" client with leveraged financing.  Under both "sell side" and "buy side" advisory scenarios, DCS advisors provide comprehensive services, including structuring, negotiation and execution of the equity trade, the share purchase and sale agreement and relevant shareholders' agreements.  


  • Preferred equity.  Preferred equity involves the sale of preferred shares which provide preferred shareholders with a preferential claim on the company's assets and and a preferential dividend.  Generally, preferred shareholders will have limited voting rights in a company.  Preferred equity structures may be useful and appropriate in cases where there may be a need to have two classes of shareholders (common and preferred).  Preferred shareholders may be a governmental, financial, institutional or vendor investor who may be willing to accept a more "passive investment" role in the company.  In the case of an infrastructure or utility project company, including a preferred equity tranche in the funding stack can significantly reduce the equity cost component, while at the same time providing sufficient overall equity in order to satisfy lenders leverage, coverage and liquidity limitations.  As part of a our "buy side" or "sell side" comprehensive transaction advisory services we assist our clients in evaluating, structuring, negotiating and executing preferred equity shareholding agreements.  We an also assist our " investor clients in finding evaluating, negotiating and executing potential preferred equity investment opportunities.


  • Convertible loans.  Convertible loans are loans (or bonds/notes) with a fixed or variable interest rates, which convert to common or preferred equity shares on a particular date and at a particular conversion price.  Convertible loans may be structured as either senior lien pari passu or subordinated/junior lien debt.  On the company's balance sheet, convertible loans initially constitute debt until after the conversion date.  Convertible loan structures may be useful and appropriate in cases such as new-build ("greenfield") project companies where there may be a class of investor that cannot participate as a shareholder in a non-operational asset (but may be authorized to serve as a lender during construction, with sufficient guarantees in place).  Similar to preferred equity, convertible loan investors may be a governmental, financial, institutional or vendor classes of investors.  In the case of an infrastructure or utility project company, including a convertible loan tranche in the funding stack can increase the overall project debt quantum (in the case that other available and feasible debt funding sources are limited) and also reduce the capital cost component (in comparison to increasing common equity).  As part of a our "buy side" or "sell side" comprehensive transaction advisory services we assist our clients in evaluating, structuring, negotiating and executing convertible loan agreements.  We an also assist our investor clients in finding evaluating, negotiating and executing potential convertible investment opportunities.


  • Mezzanine financing.  Mezzanine financing is a quasi-equity / quasi-debt form of financing.  A mezzanine loan is generally structured as a short- to intermediate-term higher yielding, non-amortizing subordinated loan (or may be payment-in-kind "PIK" structures).  Mezzanine loans typically carry equity warrant and other rights, and generally may be converted to common equity upon an event of default.  Mezzanine financing may be useful and appropriate in a variety of situations, including in a case of project financing where there may be a gap in available common equity and senior debt available to fully fund the project, or if it is too costly to increase the common equity, the mezzanine tranche may provide "in-the-middle" gap financing during the construction period and refinanced to senior debt after the project achieves commercial operations.  In other applications, mezzanine financing may be useful and appropriate in leveraged acquisitions and buyouts, refinancings/restructurings and for early-stage growth companies.  Mezzanine investors may include governmental, financial, institutional, vendor, private equity and venture capital classes of investors.  As part of a our "buy side" or "sell side" comprehensive transaction advisory services , we assist our clients in evaluating, structuring, negotiating and executing mezzanine financing agreements.  We an also assist our investor clients in finding evaluating, negotiating and executing potential mezzanine investment opportunities.


  • Shareholder loans.  Shareholder loans (SHLs) are typically loans provided by common and/or preferred shareholders in a company.  SHLs are typically used for tax structuring purposes (tax deductible interest) and equity distributions purposes and other specific objectives, depending on the specify transaction and company circumstances.  As part of a our "buy side" or "sell side" comprehensive transaction advisory services we assist our clients in evaluating and structuring SHL agreements.


  • Equity bridges and Equity Guarantees.  Equity bridge loans (EBLs) are loans or lines-of-credit, or guarantees extended by a (usually investment grade) commercial lender, institution, government or corporation to the shareholders of a company for the purpose of providing necessary up-front equity capital or draw of debt capital, and thereby deferring shareholder equity cash injections, for the purpose of developing and constructing a project or completing an acquisition.  An EBL or equity guarantee can significantly reduce a project's total capital costs in the case of a project financing or improve the equity returns in the case of acquisition.  As part of a our "buy side" or "sell side" comprehensive transaction advisory services , we assist our clients in evaluating, structuring, negotiating and executing SHLs and equity guarantee agreements.  


  • Initial public offerings (IPOs), add-on offerings and share repurchases.  DCS is an independent advisory firm and we are not a licensed investment bank in any of the regions we serve.  Therefore cannot provide full-service equity capital markets services as it relates to publicly traded stock companies.  However, DCS assist our clients (whether mature large cap, mid cap or small cap or early stage) who may be considering "going public" or an "add-on" share offering on any exchange, through the entire process of by providing independent third-party advice beginning at the evaluation stage of whether an IPO and the related various stock exchange requirements are in the best interest of company's shareholders.  In the event that "going public" is decided to be the best course of action, we can advise our client as to the most appropriate exchange(s) and the most suitable investment banks for the transaction.  We will continue to provide objective and unbiased advise to our client through the entire IPO process.  We can also assist companies and investors who are pursuing "going private" share repurchase transaction, in a similar third-party advisory role.  Numerous DCS employees are former investment bankers and we maintain relationships with many qualified investment banks that may be selected in the case of an IPO "add-on" offer or share repurchase.


DCS advisors are able to provide equity capital fundraising services on a stand-alone basis on behalf of public and private sector clients who are pursuing project financing, acquisition or workout and restructuring transactions.  In most cases, as equity capital fundraising will be only one element of a larger project delivery program, DCS will also be providing other complementary transaction advisory services in relation to other transaction elements.  Our preference is always to provide such comprehensive transaction advisory services and coordinate all elements of the transaction, including project financing on behalf of our clients.


Under any equity capital fundraising advisory mandate, DCS will draw from our vast global network of veteran industry expert advisor affiliates and our relationship consultants in order to assemble the most appropriate team to match the specific needs of the transaction at hand.  This will always include leadership of DCS affiliate experts who possess decades of global transactional experience related to the specific sector and transaction type.  In any equity capital fund raising transaction advisory service mandate, our preferred role is always to serve as the lead project/program manager.  Within this role we are also able to assist in the selection and procurement (or subcontracting) and management of other advisors, including local and international legal, technical, tax, commercial and due diligence advisors or other specialized advisors, as the specific transaction may require.  To the extent that other third-party advisors are required, there are many value added advantages of allowing DCS to assist in the procurement of these advisors.  First, DCS expert affiliates themselves possess many of the legal, technical, commercial and managerial skill sets and we are best positioned to determine which additional outside third-party skill sets are required and which firms or individuals should be hired in these roles.  Secondly, equity capital fundraising projects are often very complex undertakings, requiring the management and coordination of many simultaneous workstreams.  DCS advisors are experts inproject and program management services and are ideally suited to manage and coordinate a multi-dimensional advisory team most efficiently and effectively.


Complementing our equity capital fund raising advisory services, DCS advisors offer the following complementary advisory services that may be applicable, dependent on the equity capital fundraising transaction situation.



DCS experts provide comprehensive equity capital fundraising advisory services in the following sectors that we specialize in.  Please click on the below links to learn more about the sectors that we cover:







DCS experts provide comprehensive equity capital fundraising advisory services to the following categories of clients: