“It was his confidence and his energetic entrepreneurial drive which really impressed me,” says Manish Chokhani, one of the four partners at Enam and its MD when it merged into Axis Bank. “Such was his confidence in his ability to get results that he agreed to join us at a small fixed salary and earn the bulk by way of bonuses. He was a rare salesperson who could sense the pulse of each client and had the rare ability to calibrate his communication with each client based on what would work for them. He had the ability to call up 20 fund managers due to his personal equations even then,” he said.

“He has an instinct and passion for deals, something which one had seen, for example, in Hemendra Kothari in his earlier years. He was our sword arm, a finisher like Virat Kohli, who got us across the line on all our deals" remarks Chokhani.

It was during his period at Enam that Dharmesh built and, to his credit, nurtured relationships with promoters and CEOs of companies. Those relationships, trust, and decades of relentless hard work are helping him to attract a strong deal flow at DAM Capital,” Chokhani points out.

“Recently, in DAM Capital, Dharmesh acted as a sole advisor for the sale of Ravalgaon’s sugar, confectionary IP to Reliance Consumer Industries. This deal was completed in March 2024. Earlier, DAM Capital also acted as one of the advisors to Nirma for the acquisition of 75 per cent stake in Glenmark Lifesciences in a deal valued at Rs5,650 crore.”

Dharmesh went to Axis Bank post the merger of Enam with Axis and built up Axis Capital, the investment bank which won several accolades under him. He was instrumental in making Axis Capital the number one investment bank and the top bank in Equity Capital Markets (ECM). Enam was also largely focused on raising funds for equities.

An avid cricketer himself, Dharmesh was known to play with a straight bat. “Unlike some other investment bankers who talk glibly and try and sell securities which would not be in the interest of the fund, Dharmesh did his homework well and took care to sell appropriate securities to buyers,” says A Balasubramanian, MD and CEO, Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund. "If I were to describe one quality which endeared one to Dharmesh, it was honesty,” says Bala.

The second turning point in Dharmesh’s life came when he left Axis Capital and ventured out on his own in November 2018. He, along with a few investors, made a bid for IDFC Securities. IDFC had earlier bought SSKI, a broking outfit, and brought it into its fold in 2006.

At that time, IDFC was in the midst of a merger with First Bank and was in the process of divesting all divisions that did not align with its banking focus. However, the deal fell through due to IDFC holding out for a higher valuation. Despite several unsuccessful bidders for IDFC Securities, none were successful, leading to a significant exodus of staff from the company. Eventually, Dharmesh acquired IDFC at an undisclosed price, providing him with a pre-established platform to expand his equity offerings. Notably, Dharmesh chose not to terminate any staff, reflecting his commitment to maintaining a stable workforce.

Expanding services

“It was not our practice to hire and fire, even at Enam,” stated Vallabh Bhansali’s protégé, underscoring their consistent approach to personnel management. Subsequently, DAM Capital emerged as a formidable presence in the market. Transitioning into a comprehensive investment bank firm, DAM established its own research house and expanded its services to include institutional broking and M&A advisory. Since the takeover three years ago, DAM Capital has completed 20 M&A/Private Equity deals and raised capital through 25 IPOs, 15 QIPs, and private placements, as well as OFS deals.

In the recently concluded fiscal year FY24, DAM executed 9 IPOs across various sectors, the largest being JSW Infra with an issue size of Rs2,800 crore. Other notable IPOs include Entreo Healthcare, Capital Small Finance Bank, and Yatra. Additionally, DAM facilitated 9 QIPs totalling Rs11,500 crore.

DAM boasts strong relationships with top corporates such as Reliance Industries, JSW, Tube Investments and Vedanta. It also maintains a positive rapport with the Shapoorji Pallonji group, providing fundraising services and advisory support for the sale of its renewable assets and data centre resources to Reliance. In FY24, DAM secured the mandate for Afcons, another successful company under the Shapoorji Pallonji umbrella.

“Selling comes naturally to Dharmesh; not just selling ideas but also building relations. He leads from the front,” says Jateen Doshi, MD Institutional Sales. Jateen worked with him at Enam before moving to IDFC Securities. “He comes across as a warm person and treats his team as part of his extended family.” The workflow is efficient, and Dharmesh often comes to his office on Saturdays.

“He is quite fast in getting things done. In the MapmyIndia issue, it was completed within weeks of signing, and the RHP was filed,” says Kamraj Singh Negi, MD Mergers and Acquisitions, Equity Capital Markets. He adds: “Dharmesh is a hardcore execution person and often travels with promoters. He does not sleep much and gets involved as much as possible, including the nitty-gritty.” Kamraj has joined the IDFC Securities team.

In the book-running process for new issues, being on the left side of the book-running managers is considered prestigious. Ajay Garg, who previously worked at DSP ML but then started his own investment bank, EquirusCapital, highlights that being the left-side BRLM (Book Running Lead Managers) means that the success of an IPO is often their primary responsibility.

“DAM and Equirus have successfully disrupted the dominance of traditional equity capital markets (ECM) firms. Over the past 3 years, we have individually executed numerous IPOs, resulting in many success stories, even in the small-cap sector,” Ajay remarks. “Dharmesh has seamlessly transitioned his success from the AXIS platform to DAM, earning the rare distinction of establishing two thriving ECM practices.”

Success breeds success. With youth on his side, Dharmesh can effortlessly leverage his achievementsto establish a comprehensive investment bank. DAM’s ambition is to emerge as the premier destination for all capital needs.