"Real economy on long-term basis in India is excellent. Overall growth rates are on top of the world. The government is effective, and the record here is good. I don't see what will interrupt this other than minor cyclical moves."
That's the word coming in from Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative investment firm with over $1.1 trillion assets under management as of December 31, 2024.
Schwarzman, a legendary businessman, philanthropist and a New York Times bestselling author, who co-founded the Blackstone Group in 1985 and grew it into a global investment giant across sectors, spoke at a media briefing in Mumbai on March 12.
Alluding to the market volatility over the past few months, Schwarzman said, "There has been a little bit of softness in the last two quarters. There are those who believe that the stock market (in India) was frothy, so some adjustment would be expected."
Importantly, Schwarzman highlighted two key focus areas for the investment giant going ahead.
"It is logical to bring private credit here over time. India needs infrastructure and this is something we would like to do," he said.
Amit Dixit, Head of Asia for Blackstone Private Equity elaborated, "Digital infrastructure ( data centres), energy transition and transportation are three specific areas in infrastructure we do globally which are relevant for India."
Dixit added that India has become the world’s most vibrant IPO market and that Blackstone has been a beneficiary of that.
"The exit environment has dramatically improved in India," he shared as the firm completes two decades in India.
When asked about allocations set aside for fresh India investments over a five-year horizon, Schwarzman said, "We don't have rigid allocations for India. It is our best investment market in the world. We have enormous confidence in the country and are open to put much more money here "
US-based Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial and retail real estate in India.
Tuhin Parikh, Head of Real Estate for Blackstone India struck an optimistic note about the space, "Real estate portfolio ( in India) is in a purple patch. Office demand has come back from the depths of Covid. Hotels are booming. Industrial demand is also booming and in malls our occupancy is 98 per cent."
Blackstone has been investing in India since 2006 and has pumped in more than $50 bn across sectors ranging from IT services and asset & wealth management to auto components and online learning.
The firm's domestic leadership team also includes Mukesh Mehta, Amit Dalmia, Asheesh Mohta, Ganesh Mani and Himanshu Dodeja.
Blackstone Private Equity has made investments earlier in firms like Mphasis, VFS, TaskUs, Xpressbees, and Simplilearn.
On April 3, 2024, in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, Jonathan D Gray, Blackstone’s President and Chief Operating Officer spoke about the firm's plans to expand into infrastructure, growth equity and private credit in the Indian market. Gray had added that the government should make it easier to delist companies and execute M&A transactions.
Blackstone has been pretty active in the M&A and equity capital market deals space in India over the last year.
Recently, it sold a 24.9 per cent stake in portfolio company EPL Ltd, a global speciality packaging company and manufacturer of laminated tubes for $220 million.
Blackstone- and Sattva Group-backed Knowledge Realty Trust filed draft offer documents earlier this month for a Rs 6,200-crore REIT ( Real Estate Investment Trust) IPO, possibly India's biggest listing in the REIT segment.
In November 2024 , the world's largest private equity player struck India's biggest healthcare deal by sealing a merger of its portfolio firm Quality Care India Ltd with Moopen family-founded Aster DM Healthcare, creating a combined entity valued at around $5 billion.
That's not all, the firm also unlocked value through two key listings in the financial services and gems and jewellery space in 2024 - the $359-million IPO of Aadhar Housing Finance and the $498-million IPO of International Gemmological Institute ( IGI).
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