Investment Criteria

Transaction Types

Buyout:
  • Existing businesses with strong fundamentals, but low performance due to substandard management
  • Attractive targets found in family businesses, unmotivated management, and businesses with non-optimal balance sheets
  • Companies can be grown organically or via acquisitions by providing the necessary debt and equity capital
Growth Equity:
  • Existing early to growth stage businesses with strong potential for scalability
  • Reputable entrepreneurs with a drive to succeed and business acumen
  • Business that can benefit from our management expertise, exposure to global markets, and financing
Special Situations:
  • Turn-arounds of businesses distressed as a result of ineffective management
  • Assets and businesses sold by institutions (e.g. bank repossessions after a foreclosure)

Underwriting Criteria

  • Target size of investments: €1 million – €3 million*
  • Have a well-defined and measurable positive economic and social impact
  • Opportunities with reputable co-investment partners
  • Entrepreneurs and management must have their “skin in the game”
  • Equity investments with auxiliary debt instruments utilized to manage investment risk and provide an avenue for partial exists
  • Targets can benefit from Brightmore expertise and consultative approach to value creation
  • One a limited basis, investments in new ventures with initial capital expenditures ranging from $500k to $2 million

* Under specific circumstances, deals executed may be above or below the target range, not exceeding 10% of the fund size
 

Geographic Focus

Brightmore’s predominant focus is on making investments in francophone West Africa, with the two primary countries of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal (70%). The remaining 30% of the fund is allocated to investments in other countries in the region on an opportunistic basis: Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Benin and Togo.