Two decades ago, Blackstone Inc. made a bet that India could be its next frontier. The firm set up an office in Mumbai in 2005 and soon pumped piles of cash into minority stakes in more than a half-dozen companies. Within two years, the investment giant was in retreat, forced to write some of its bets down to almost zero. “We were new to India, and we were learning,” says Amit Dixit, Blackstone’s head of Asia for private equity. “The sector was finding its feet.”
Blackstone persevered, replacing its India boss and insisting on buying only majority stakes. After assiduously courting a new class of entrepreneurs and helping connect its Indian properties to companies it controls around the world, the firm has built a thriving business there. Today, Blackstone says India has become its third-biggest investment market, after the US and the UK, and its returns from India are better than those from any other country.
