At Shriram Group's Chennai headquarters last August, the 88-year-old founder led talks with three Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group executives on a multibillion-dollar investment.
Rather than focus first on earnings projections and valuation, Thyagarajan discussed kaizen and Japan's post-war corporate rebuilding, discipline and restraint in cyclical businesses.
The account highlights the personal negotiating style behind a major India transaction involving one of the country's largest shadow lenders and Japan's biggest banking group.
How did a single philosophical chat secure a $4.4 billion deal between Japanese and Indian financial giants?
Will a $4.4 billion Japanese investment finally bridge the huge credit gap for India's 70 million small businesses?