Peter Mason
Senior Consultant | Johannesburg
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9666
Overview
Along the road to rejoining private practice in 2024, Peter served as a partner and director of a leading South African private equity firm, as the general counsel of a leading South African corporate and investment bank, and as an equity partner at a major South African law firm. Over the past decade, he has advised, as both a buyer and a seller, on various major transactions in the South African private equity market and has extensive debt and equity structuring experience. Peter’s expertise includes:
- private side mergers and acquisitions
- capital structuring
- debt structuring and advisory, from the perspective of both borrowers and lenders
- private equity fund structuring
- structuring and management of investor relationships and corporate reporting
- corporate restructuring
- general commercial legal work
Peter is an experienced company director. He has been a member of the boards of directors of various industrial and manufacturing companies and regulated financial services firms, including both private equity and asset management businesses. He has also chaired various audit, risk and remuneration subcommittees and is an experienced manager and leader.
Peter is entrepreneurial and has had many years of firsthand experience in originating deals and living with them throughout their lifecycles. This has included: negotiating and implementing complex transactions; making representations to various regulators; managing shareholder and investor relations; implementing effective corporate governance processes and managing competitive disposal processes. He is a practical and solution-driven lawyer and brings to his practice his varied commercial and legal background.
Experience
* Experience gained prior to joining Bowmans.
During his career as a banking and finance lawyer, Peter was lead internal counsel in a number of large corporate debt, investment banking, restructuring and turnaround transactions. In addition to this, Peter led the legal teams which were responsible for:
- Absa Bank’s investigation into the substantial single stock futures underwriting losses incurred by the Absa Capital division of the bank in 2008 and consequent legal action against the responsible parties.*
- Absa Bank’s disposal of its interest in Absa Capital Private Equity Fund I to international secondary investors HarbourVest and Coller Capital, in the largest secondary of its time in South Africa.*
As a lawyer working in private equity, Peter acted for:
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Tsebo (facilities management, cleaning, catering and security services) 2017 to local and international trade investors which involved cross border considerations and which won PE deal of the year.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Safripol (plastics manufacturing) to a local trade investor in 2018.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Kwikspace (modular buildings) to local and international financial investors in 2021 which involved cross border considerations.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in EnviroServ (hazardous waste management) in 2022 to local and international trade investors which involved cross border considerations.*
- Rockwood Private Equity in the funding and buy-out by the local fund management team of international investors‘ limited partner investments.*
- Rockwood Private Equity on its acquisition of Global Roofing Solutions (folded roof sheeting) in 2021.*
- Rockwood Private Equity on its acquisition of Prominent Paints (paint manufacturing) in 2022.*
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
Education
- BCom, University of Natal
- LLB, University of Natal
- Diploma in Advanced Banking, University of Johannesburg
Professional Memberships
- Admitted attorney (South Africa)
Overview
Along the road to rejoining private practice in 2024, Peter served as a partner and director of a leading South African private equity firm, as the general counsel of a leading South African corporate and investment bank, and as an equity partner at a major South African law firm. Over the past decade, he has advised, as both a buyer and a seller, on various major transactions in the South African private equity market and has extensive debt and equity structuring experience. Peter’s expertise includes:
- private side mergers and acquisitions
- capital structuring
- debt structuring and advisory, from the perspective of both borrowers and lenders
- private equity fund structuring
- structuring and management of investor relationships and corporate reporting
- corporate restructuring
- general commercial legal work
Peter is an experienced company director. He has been a member of the boards of directors of various industrial and manufacturing companies and regulated financial services firms, including both private equity and asset management businesses. He has also chaired various audit, risk and remuneration subcommittees and is an experienced manager and leader.
Peter is entrepreneurial and has had many years of firsthand experience in originating deals and living with them throughout their lifecycles. This has included: negotiating and implementing complex transactions; making representations to various regulators; managing shareholder and investor relations; implementing effective corporate governance processes and managing competitive disposal processes. He is a practical and solution-driven lawyer and brings to his practice his varied commercial and legal background.
Experience
* Experience gained prior to joining Bowmans.
During his career as a banking and finance lawyer, Peter was lead internal counsel in a number of large corporate debt, investment banking, restructuring and turnaround transactions. In addition to this, Peter led the legal teams which were responsible for:
- Absa Bank’s investigation into the substantial single stock futures underwriting losses incurred by the Absa Capital division of the bank in 2008 and consequent legal action against the responsible parties.*
- Absa Bank’s disposal of its interest in Absa Capital Private Equity Fund I to international secondary investors HarbourVest and Coller Capital, in the largest secondary of its time in South Africa.*
As a lawyer working in private equity, Peter acted for:
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Tsebo (facilities management, cleaning, catering and security services) 2017 to local and international trade investors which involved cross border considerations and which won PE deal of the year.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Safripol (plastics manufacturing) to a local trade investor in 2018.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in Kwikspace (modular buildings) to local and international financial investors in 2021 which involved cross border considerations.*
- Rockwood Private Equity Fund I on the disposal of its investment in EnviroServ (hazardous waste management) in 2022 to local and international trade investors which involved cross border considerations.*
- Rockwood Private Equity in the funding and buy-out by the local fund management team of international investors‘ limited partner investments.*
- Rockwood Private Equity on its acquisition of Global Roofing Solutions (folded roof sheeting) in 2021.*
- Rockwood Private Equity on its acquisition of Prominent Paints (paint manufacturing) in 2022.*
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