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Sylvester Burley, Finance Expert in Los Angeles, CA, United States
Sylvester Burley

Finance Expert in Los Angeles, CA, United States

Member since July 6, 2018
Sylvester has executed debt, equity, M&A, and LBO transactions and investments of $2.5+ billion in value across the energy and infrastructure sectors at the leading investment bank, J.P. Morgan, and private equity firms Bregal and Riverstone. He has also executed LMM private credit deals across multiple industries. A Harvard graduate living in Los Angeles, Sylvester enjoys freelancing and co-founded RMI Insights, a strategic and financial advisory consulting firm.
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Career Highlights

Education

Case studies

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Employment

  • Principal

    2019 - PRESENT
    Avante Capital Partners
    • Led the sourcing and execution of multiple deals at the firm, with my specific deals generating the highest equity IRR (above 700% IRR) and highest equity CoC (above twelve times CoC) in the firm's history.
    • Hired and trained a team of junior professionals on sourcing, financial modeling, conducting financial and business due diligence, negotiation, and legal documentation.
    • Serve as a board observer on multiple companies spanning a variety of industries.
    Focus areas: Deal Execution, Investment Portfolio Management, Deal Sourcing, M&A Modeling, Private Equity, Private Credit

  • Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer

    2015 - PRESENT
    RMI Insights
    • Developed and implemented internal growth strategies, overseeing a team of ten employees as COO and co-founder and successfully bootstrapping the company to profitability in less than one year with year-over-year revenue growth of 100%+ since 2015.
    • Built a dynamic operating model and prepared an investor presentation that helped enable a machine-learning technology firm that had previously raised $15 million, Hyperscience, secure an investment from QBE Ventures for an undisclosed sum.
    • Prepared the investment teaser and investor deck as well as the three-statement operating model, and coordinated due diligence process with potential investors to support the series A capital raise of KometaBio, a medical device company.
    • Constructed a three-statement operating model, performed discounted cash flow ("DCF") valuation analysis, and conducted returns and sensitivity analysis to provide a recommendation as to whether Billy Bob's Texas, the world's largest country music honky-tonk, should open a new location in Houston.
    • Developed a financial model analyzing the ROI for PPR Note Co., an advisor to investment funds that acquire distressed residential debt in the US, to transfer its portfolio of ~2,400 loans to various co-branded and private label solutions; also built the company-wide template for a first lien loan bidding model and recommended an investor surveillance and reporting framework.
    Focus areas: Fintech, Three-statement Modeling, M&A Modeling, Valuation Modeling, Business Planning, Financial Modeling, Capital Raising, CFO, Corporate Finance, Finance Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Budgeting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

  • Private Equity Senior Associate

    2017 - 2019
    Bregal Energy
    • Prepared and presented marketing materials, including an investor presentation detailing the investment thesis and strategy for potential limited partners (internal and external fundraising efforts) for a new fund with a target size of $750 million.
    • Served as a board member, monitoring the existing investments and providing corporate governance for the fund's portfolio companies, IMG Midstream LLC and Champlin LLC.
    • Provided ongoing support for the budgeting, FP&A, and strategic initiative planning processes across Bregal Energy's existing investments, liaising with C-level executives to supervise the operations of companies and assets.
    • Sourced, screened, and built the financial model, authored an 80-page investment memo detailing the investment thesis and DD findings, and negotiated a $500 million investment in a 200 MW solar-generation platform that KKR was selling.
    • Sourced and executed a $130 million refinancing of a portfolio company's senior debt facility with Ares Management, securing improved terms to support the build-out of additional small-scale natural gas-fired generation assets.
    Focus areas: Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Due Diligence, Corporate Finance, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Market Research, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Asset Valuation, Three-statement Modeling, Financial Modeling, Investment Monitoring, Investment Memoranda, Private Equity

  • Infrastructure Private Equity Senior Associate

    2015 - 2017
    Basalt Infrastructure Partners
    • Sourced, evaluated, performed due diligence, negotiated, and executed a $140 million equity investment in Soltage, a solar developer, establishing a partnership to build out 150 MW of solar assets across the U.S.
    • Built the investment case model and prepared a 75-page investment memo, underpinning Fund I's $50 million follow-on investment in Texas Microgrid, a distributed generation platform offering backup power to C&I customers throughout Texas.
    • Developed the financial model exam and case study prompt leveraged internationally across the firm to evaluate junior associate hires' technical skills and spearheaded the recruiting process, resulting in the onboarding of five new hires.
    • Authored a 40-slide macro overview presentation that covered trends, investment strategy, and the fund's existing performance, which was incorporated into Fund I's 2016 annual report and circulated to all limited partners.
    • Screened and evaluated over 95 potential deals in 18 months; this included liaising with corporate executives, building financial models, assembling IC presentations, synthesizing key findings, and presenting recommendations to the committee.
    Focus areas: Fund Analysis, Valuation Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investment Monitoring, Private Equity, Corporate Finance, Market Research, Capital Raising, Due Diligence, Asset Valuation, Valuation Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Financial Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

  • Private Equity Associate

    2013 - 2015
    Riverstone Holdings
    • Managed two-way DD processes; negotiated and executed the sale of Mistral Energy's Saskatchewan Ethane Extraction Plant (SEEP) and Vantage Ethane Pipeline to Pembina Pipeline Corp. for $650 million, Fund III's best-performing deal (49% and IRR).
    • Prepared marketing materials, including a coal primer, financial forecast summary, and management presentation for a portfolio company, Foresight Energy's $350 million IPO and $1.55 billion debt refinancing.
    • Performed due diligence, constructed the financial model, conducted industry research, and prepared a 75-page investment memorandum for a $300 million equity raise for a Canadian midstream energy company.
    • Developed complex financial models and investment presentations and performed due diligence on 50+ transactions across all segments of the energy sector, including exploration and production, midstream, downstream, and power generation.
    • Evaluated and presented the most actionable acquisitions to the investment committee of any associate and ranked as the top associate in the firm for two consecutive years.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Hedging, Equity Financing, Private Equity, Due Diligence, M&A Modeling, Transaction Modeling, Market Research, Valuation Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Investment Monitoring, Investment Memoranda, Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Financial Modeling

  • Investment Banking Analyst

    2011 - 2013
    J.P. Morgan
    • Ranked as the top analyst in the power and utilities group for two consecutive years and was hand-selected by senior management to serve as the group's "Internal Mobility Captain," representing the group firmwide for external and internal candidates.
    • Performed a valuation analysis, constructed complex financial models, composed confidential information memoranda, assembled management presentations, and prepared board materials for 25+ Fortune 500 clients in the power and utility sector.
    • Prepared the pitch materials positioning J.P. Morgan to advise NextEra Energy on selling its entire merchant portfolio, which comprised 3+ GW, without the advice of an associate or vice president on the project.
    • Selected by the head of the energy group to spearhead the composition of macro "thought-piece" materials for the 25th Annual SNL Exnet Power & Utilities M&A Symposium, creating a 40-slide deck used by the group head for this seminal industry event.
    • Selected by the head of the Energy group to compose a primer on China's utility industry to assist with a client marketing trip; the presentation prepared remains the basis for the group's annual China and Japan cross-border client targeting effort.
    • Led the analytical workstreams, including creating the financial model, CIM, and management presentation. Spearheaded diligence for J.P. Morgan's sell-side M&A advisory role to Iberdrola Renewables on its sale of a 700 MW US wind portfolio.
    Focus areas: Business Advisory, Market Research, Equity Financing, Debt Raises, Capital Structuring, Capital Raising, Due Diligence, M&A Modeling, Transaction Modeling, Valuation Modeling, Valuation Analysis, Financial Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A (Buy-side), M&A (Sell-side), Investment Banking

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Economics and Applied Math
    2007 - 2011
    Harvard University - Cambridge, MA, USA

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