International Finance Institute

CHARLES WORTHMAN is an investment banker with over 9 years of professional experience and more than 250 closed transactions in excess of US$ 9 Billion.
He was profoundly involved in the selection process for new junior level resources at various positions.

Charles’ most recent experience is as a Vice President for H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, a leading boutique investment bank in New York. Before joining H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, he was a VP at Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, prior to which he worked at Bryant Park Capital and Citigroup Global Investment Bank.

FRANK VEIN brings more than 24 years of professional experience in finance, both locally and internationally, to the International Finance Institute. His career involves working on deals not only in South Africa, but also globally – in Europe, Asia and North America. Frank closed deals for companies such as Tomkins, Coates Viyella and Hanson Industries, as well as for Far East companies, among which Mitsui, Sumitomo, Olympus, Nissan, and Samsung. Frank concluded deals for the likes of Eskom, Transnet, Gold Fields, Billiton, DaimlerChrysler, and Nestle. He also set up the South African division of ABN AMRO’s Diamond Bank which financed the local diamond and jewelry trade. During his time with ABSA Corporate Finance he led the team that won the mandate to advise Eskom Enterprises on the disposal of their residential property portfolio and the South African Broadcasting Corporation on their operational and financial restructuring.

Frank holds a BSc (Hons) Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Essex, UK. He also holds the Associate Chartered Institute of Bankers, UK (ACIB) qualification. Frank Vein started his Finance career with Barclays Bank in the City of London, following which he joined ABN AMRO Bank and was a key member of the team responsible for establishing the Bank’s South African operations. His acumen includes building up portfolios of multinational corporate clients. Following this, he held Senior Corporate Banking roles with Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas. His most recent experience is with JP Morgan Chase as an Executive Director responsible for the Bank’s South African Corporate Clients and key transactions.

SELECTED TRANSACTION EXPERIENCE:

US$1bln International Bond Issue for Sasol;
US$1bln International Bond Issue for Transnet;
Unbundling of South African assets of major South African listed company including US$150mln participation in funding facilities;
US$125mln participation in Syndication of SA listed media company;
€32mln participation in Syndication of SA listed furniture manufacturer;
R500mln participation funding for major South African retailer.

SWAROOP PATEL is a seasoned finance professional with over 18 years of investment banking experience. He has worked on numerous transactions across Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe and the USA totaling over US$21 Billion in value. His experience spans from leveraged finance and infrastructure finance, to principal investments and real estate. Swaroop has lead securities offerings and debt financing transactions, and has advised multiple Leverage Buyouts (LBO) for private equity funds. He has also worked on Venture Capital and Private Placements deals, international securities and bond offerings, performed corporate finance duties, completed Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Initial Public Offerings (IPO) for companies the US, Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Macau.

Currently, Swaroop Patel is the Managing Director of Calexian Ltd, consulting various Asian corporations on fund raising and joint ventures. Swaroop’s prior experience includes senior positions at bulge-bracket investment banks. His finance career started at JP Morgan Chase where he worked on Leverage Buyout (LBO) and Venture Capital projects for their New York and Hong Kong offices. He was the Head of Fixed Income Capital Markets for ABN AMRO Bank NV and the Head of Debt Capital Raising Asia-Pacific for Bank of America Securities Asia Ltd. His most recent experience before co-founding Calexian Ltd. was with Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank where he served as the Head of Debt and Credit Markets Asia.

Swaroop holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Rice University, Houston, TX, USA and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

SELECTED TRANSACTION EXPERIENCE:
Raised US$5.55 billion across multiple international offerings with the Fixed Income Debt Capital Markets Department at ABN AMRO Bank NV in Hong Kong;
Served as the Mandated Arranger on a US$3.1 billion Hindalco Industries’ acquisition of Novelis Corporation through an 18-month acquisition bridge loan;
Provided counsel as Corporate Finance Advisor on capital structure and takeout financing alternatives, including GDR placement, high yield bond market, syndicated loan market, domestic Indian rupee financing, asset sales and Novelis recapitalization alternatives;
Executed a US$2.25 billion Global Bond offering for BHP Billiton Finance, Australia;
Secured a US$2.0 billion Syndicated Loan Project Financing for Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd., India;
Acted as Mandated Arranger on a US$1.75 billion leveraged project financing for Melco PBL Gaming Macau Inc., Macau developing of the City of Dreams Casino Resort;
Completed a US$1.5 billion Wynn Resorts Macau Casino Project Financing;
Acted as the Lead Manager on a US$1.5 billion 144A Bond Offering in Westfield, Australia, the largest REIT bond done-to-date when it was completed.