The Bad Boys Of Emerging Markets
Can Regent's dynamic duo build a global fund giant?
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For Jim Mellon, the 1994 visit to Moscow was just a side trip after a deal in Vladivostok turned out to be a dud. But the voyage ended up reshaping his fund-management company, Regent Pacific Group Ltd.
What Mellon saw in Moscow was the beginning of Russia's privatization program. Awestruck, Mellon watched as grandmothers from the countryside haggled with traders protected by Kalashnikov-toting bodyguards over vouchers good for stock in Russian industries. Figuring this could be the bargain of the century, Mellon plunged in. Ordering his Hong Kong headquarters to wire him $2 million, he snapped up every share in sight. Six months later, the stake was worth $6 million.