The founders and leaders of the firm have diverse histories in India, China, North America, Europe and Asia and bring to bear backgrounds in finance, banking, investing, industry, law and consulting to add value to complex situations

The founders of Greater Pacific Capital formed the firm with the aim of investing in India and China and of linking of the two countries to the international community and markets. This was very much in keeping with their personal histories in both countries and in other parts of the world where their forefathers had lived in former parts of the British Empire.

The three founding partners of the firm had worked at Goldman Sachs where they had worked with major clients of the firm including sovereigns, corporations and investors on strategy, finance and banking. During this time they had developed a sophisticated point of view on the nature of the complex rise of India and China on the world stage.

In the times of opportunity and uncertainty as both these countries began to exert themselves in the international arena more visibly, their aim was to establish a firm that would be a trusted partner for investors and companies in India, China and internationally with the aspiration to create value from the growth of both countries and their links. This required the founders to gain the trust of a group of international investors – initially from Japan, Europe, North America and the Middle East - to back them to create a merchant finance style business in the region premised on an approach combining themes, strategy and capital. The firm would identify the most promising themes, high growth industries and sectors and then search for fit companies with aspiring managers that they could work with to develop strategies and then support the execution of the resulting plans for companies to realize a step-change in value.

In summer 2005, the founders of the firm met to design a firm with strategic consulting skills, banking and financial advisory skills, investing and capital. A number of former colleagues joined them to establish the firm’s capability.

In late 2005, the firm raised capital for its first investment in India to grow a broad based asset manager from a brokerage house.

In summer 2006, the firm closed on its first of commitments of US$200m to begin investing in India and China. The firm secured the mandate from its investors to invest in a distinctive manner - minority and majority, private and public, early and late stage, domestic and cross-border – to find the best ways to find and position in the two economies. The firm’s capital was to increase over the coming years to enable the strategy to be implemented.

In 2006 and 2007, the firm worked from temporary offices in Mumbai and Shanghai to recruit and train the team to create transactions following the principle of creating “special situations”, proprietary opportunities where a special relationship could be struck with owner-managers of very promising businesses. The firm was successful at applying this business model repeatedly to invest.

In 2007, the firm moved into its main office in India in the bustling old trading centre in South Mumbai’s Fort area. In 2008, the firm moved into its main office in China in the old trading region of Shanghai’s PuXi area.

In the early part of 2008, the firm produced a thesis on the gap between the aspirations of nations for growth, consumption and prosperity and the shortage of the materials required to support these aspirations and the political-economic-technological-societal crises that would ensue. This thesis was privately tested with selected senior government and corporate leaders internationally and found to be compelling. The implications for India, China and investing were examined and the firm re-focused its efforts on its capital structure and the companies it had partnered and invested in.

As the global recession, triggered by The Great Financial Crisis, hit in late 2008, the firm had already begun to raise more capital and was strongly positioned to expand the team and focus them on applying advisory skills, financing skills and the firm’s relationships to help their portfolio companies read and where needed weather the global storm.

Through 2009, the firm strengthened its team in both India and China and added skills to its people and relationships to its network. The thesis on the complexity and nature of the crisis had helped the firm to expand its influence with a number of strategic relationships that were set to help take the firm to the next level.

The firm begins 2010, as a survivor with many lessons learnt, a strong team, a portfolio of companies that have also weathered the storm of 2009 well and overall expanded their positions of great Indian, Chinese and international relationships and a stream of new ideas and opportunities to continue its journey.