Dixit joined Warburg Pincus from Harvard Business School. Before he went to Harvard he was co-founder of a web portal in India for buying and selling used cars called www.automartindia.com. Dixit started the portal after he graduated with a masters in engineering from Stanford University and a bachelors of technology from the Indian Institute of Technology at Mumbai.
Blackstone has closed two private equity deals in India to date: in August 2006, a $366 million investment in Emcure Pharmaceuticals; and in February 2007, a $275 million investment in the Eenadu group, IndiaÆs single largest media sector investment to date.
BlackstoneÆs India office is headed by Akhil Gupta, senior managing director at the firm. Javed Khan joined the India team in 2005 as deputy managing director of the India practice, from DLJ merchant banking in London. Reflecting the growing importance to the firm of real estate investing, Tuhin Parikh is a managing director in Mumbai focused on this space.
Blackstone has been grabbing headlines recently for its decision to list on the NYSE, the first such move by a private equity firm. The $4 billion offering - led by Morgan Stanley and Citigroup - could be the largest IPO of the year.
Dixit may have been enticed by Blackstone's growth figures which, according to IPO documents, saw net income increase by around 70% last year to $2.3 billion. For its part, Blackstone must be counting on the likes of Dixit to ensure that the firm continues to close deals and achieve good numbers.
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