Kings Of Capital

How Blackstone made India its largest market in Asia by deploying roughly $10.4 billion across private equity, real estate and tactical opportunities. Close to $1 billion of that came in the past six months

- Pooja Sarkar

It was in December 2016 when Amit Dixit, along with two colleagues, first met Ashok Goel, chairman and managing director of Essel Propack, at the Mumbai headquarters in Kamala Mills in central Mumbai. Goel is the youngest brother of Subhash Chandra, who founded the company in 1982 and which is now the world’s largest speciality packaging firm with 25 factories in 10 countries. Dixit, senior managing director and head of private equity at Blackstone India, was impressed by Essel Propack’s innovation capabilities, how it was changing the way the world looks at tube packaging, and its ability to be ahead of its global peers. Dixit wanted to cut a cheque but Goel wasn’t ready to sell; he wanted to continue growing the business.

Essel Propack is Chandra’s first of many ventures that earned him the status of pioneer. After all, he was responsible for introducing Indians to laminated toothpaste tubes at a time when the aluminium ones ruled the roost. Chandra would go on to reinforce his path-breaker reputation by being first off the blocks in satellite television (with Zee TV) and direct-to-home television (Dish TV), among other forays. If Goel wasn’t ready to sell the family’s first jewel—they were rice traders before that—it was with good reason. years after Dixit picked up the phone on Goel, the scenario had changed. This time around, Goel made the call to Dixit to propose a sale.

“This was an opportunity we couldn’t let go. We got the full strength of Blackstone behind it,” says Dixit, sitting in Blackstone’s Mumbai office on the fifth floor of Express Towers in Nariman Point that overlooks the Arabian Sea. An unparalleled view from an iconic building was just one of the reasons for Blackstone buying it in June 2014, along with its realty partner Panchshil Developers.