Chas Walker
Managing Partner DPG Africa LLC
Managing Director DPG- US Corporate and Energy Special Situaitons
Mr. Walker joins DPG as Managing Partner of newly formed DPG-Africa LLC, a private merchant banking and investment vehicle focused on Africa regions, Mr. Walker will also serve a dual capacity within DPG as Managing Director of DPG -US Corporate finance and special situations businesses.
Mr. Walker is a disciplined, multi strategy, creative financier with sound judgment and excellent structuring, valuation, negotiation and due diligence skills. Mr. Walker has originated and executed over $25 billion of highly negotiated, complex investments and transactions across the capital structure, including private equity, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, high yield and convertible bonds, leveraged loans, PPPs, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, distressed & special situations adding great value to DPG investors and counter parties.
Mr. Walker also serves as a capital markets executive within DPG extending DPG co investors base and distribution of DPG proprietary products, his network of relationships covers Africa’s/US key region-s and with a diversified investor base thru out US, Asia and Europe,.
Mr. Walker internal role at DPG will be to originate co-investments and advise principals and investors in agriculture, power, energy, financial services, housing, consumer and infrastructure ventures focused on Africa and special situations thru out the US. He is currently affiliated with Persephone Capital Partners, Peacock Investments, GMP Mining and MPP Africa.
Previously Mr. Walker joined Marco Polo Capital Markets in January 2008 as Managing Director of Marco Polo Network AFRICA. He formulated the company’s Pan-African strategic and business development plan and established C-level relationships with bond and stock exchanges, banks, dealers, corporates, private equity firms, institutional investors, regulators, governments and a network of over 50 brokerage firms in leading African markets. He expanded the Marco Polo Network in Africa by negotiating strategic agreements with broker and dealer partners in Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, advised on development of Pan-African capital markets and electronic exchanges, and structuring of a financial services joint venture in Angola.
He has served as a principal of Walker Capital Strategies (WCS), a vehicle to make deep value investments and transform operations, with a particular focus on special situations, distressed control acquisitions and turnarounds. Prior thereto, he was a senior member of a merchant banking boutique focused on buyouts, private equity and growth capital financings for special situations, privatizations and start-ups of telecom, media, broadband, wireless, content and e-commerce enterprises.
Mr. Walker co-developed, led capitalization and served as Managing Principal of Strategic Resource Partners, a $675 million fund providing bridge loans and “one-stop” financing to private equity firms in leveraged buyout transactions. As a Senior Vice President in the Leveraged Finance Group with Lehman Brothers, Mr. Walker advised financial sponsors and led origination and execution of buyout, high yield bond, leveraged loans and distressed M&A transactions for industrial, consumer, transportation, energy, utility, structured finance and infrastructure clients.
He has worked with OPIC, IFC, African Development Bank, AFREXIM Bank, NYSE Euronext and private insurers to develop credit enhancement and other structures to improve access to international capital markets for African issuers. Mr. Walker is well versed in corporate governance through Board service as Chairman, Committee Member and Director. An engineer by training, with a BSME in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan, Mr. Walker received his MBA from Harvard Business School.


