Row Capital hopes to navigate emerging markets

June 22, 2007

Denver Business Journal

by Renee McGaw

The distance between Denver and the rest of the world is growing smaller all the time.

So says Brian Abrams, who has co-founded Row Capital LLC, a Denver-based advisory company to source deals in India and Russia for private equity firms and hedge funds. The company also advises clients on international mergers and acquisitions.

Abrams and partner Raymond Tonsing hope that Row -- which stands for "rest of world" -- can make a name for itself in middle-market emerging-market investment.

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Row Capital Partner Speaks at Oxford University Private Equity Forum

April 28, 2007

At the Oxford University Private Equity Forum this week, Row Capital partner Brian Abrams participated in a panel discussion on the role of venture capital and private equity in emerging markets.

“Private equity investment in emerging markets such as the BRIC countries [Brazil, Russia, India, and China] has increased dramatically over the past several years,” said Abrams, “but the dynamics of these capital flows continue to change by the month.”

Abrams participated in answering questions alongside co-panelists Adrian Beecroft of Apax Partners, Donald Peck of Actis Partners, Harpal Randhawa of Sabre Capital, Gavin Ni of Zero2IPO, Ramesh Venkatraman of Bridgepoint Capital, and moderator Timothy Mahapatra of Deloitte.

“I felt flattered to share the podium with such an accomplished panel,” said Abrams. “I have great admiration and respect for these guys.”

Under a UK custom known as the Chatham House Rule, the specifics of the discussion are not disclosed publicly, but Abrams shared some of his views after the conference.

“It was great to have a panel with such wide-ranging experience. Each emerging market is unique, and I believe it’s better to focus on markets that you understand well than to chase after the flavor of the month.”

Abrams said he spends the majority of his time advising on cross-border transactions between firms in the US and India.

“India is a particularly exciting market right now but you need to stay ahead of the curve. Currently, we’re seeing industry-specific waves of investment, which began with IT-enabled services several years back and has more recently shifted to sectors such as real estate, manufacturing, and retail.”

Asked whether investors should be intimidated by emerging markets, Abrams said, “Absolutely not. Any investment firm with a global mandate should be evaluating deals in these markets. The key is to have the right team in place to really understand the marketplace, identify the right opportunities, and oversee portfolio companies.”

One thing is clear. These flows of capital are unlikely to dry up anytime soon. Abrams and his co-panelists will surely have many more occasions to discuss the best ways to cross the border.