‘BlackRock will not be back in the foreseeable future in India’
In the first interview after DSP bought out BlackRock’s 40 per cent stake in DSP BlackRock Investment Managers, KALPEN PAREKH, president of the mutual fund house, speaks with Jash Kriplani on strategy changes and related matters. Edited excerpts:
We are seeing new players coming into the sector, preferring a controlling stake or 100 per cent ownership. Is this an emerging trend?
I don’t think this can be generalised. Many businesses have grown and thrived as partnerships. In our case, BlackRock was keen to continue but wanted to be a dominant partner. Globally, wherever they have businesses, they hold majority stakes. Also, our group, led by Hemendra Kothari, was keen to retain a majority. BlackRock also took the view that since we had a longer history and connect with the Indian marketplace, we should be the dominant partner. That is why we decided to take the 100 per cent ownership.
After buying out BlackRock’s stake, what would change in your strategy?
We will need our own dedicated international strategy. We will have to design different vehicles to access pools of capital from international geographies. For instance, Asian clients are comfortable with Mauritiusbased structures, US investors have a different format and some clients prefer Luxembourg-based vehicles. Earlier, we relied on BlackRock for access to international clients. Now, we will be hiring more people for international business development and client interaction. We will also have to set up offices in places like the Middle East and the US.
What about your business on the domestic front?
Nothing much has changed there. Both partners shared a common ideology, to respect risks and focus on favourable investor outcomes. That doesn’t change. We have the right team, funds, track record and experience of 20 years, all ingredients to aspire for scale and
more dominant positioning.
Any non-compete clause between DSP and BlackRock?
We won't be able to divulge details of the discussion between the two shareholders. All we can say is for the foreseeable future, BlackRock will not be back in the Indian market.
Will you be looking at new strategic investors?
Immediately, we don’t see any reason. By taking 100 per cent ownership, the shareholder (DSP) has shown confidence in running the business on its own.
For full interview, visit www.businessstandard.com