Former co-founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Flipkart recently acquired DHFL General Insurance from the Kapil Wadhawan-led Wadhawan Group of companies for ₹100 crore, according to reports.

The acquisition is a distress sale for the Wadhawan Group that also owns the now-bankrupt Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), reported The Economic Times. WCG is the first company to face bankruptcy following defaulting on payments to creditors, with an outstanding debt of about ₹40,000 crore to banks. WCG also owned Aadhar Housing Finance Limited, which was acquired by Blackstone-managed PE funds in June 2019.

DHFL General Insurance has assets under management (AUM) worth ₹400 crore, according to reports.

The acquisition was navigated through Navi Technologies, formerly BAC Acquisitions, a company registered in Bengaluru by Bansal, along with IIT-Delhi batchmate Ankit Agarwal following his exit from Flipkart, according to a report by Inc42.

The acquisition of DHFL General Insurance is a strategic move by Navi to expand his portfolio in the financial services sector. Bansal had ventured into the financial services space with the acquisition of the NBFC Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services (CRIDS) for ₹739 crore. Apart from this, Bansal has also invested in other NBFCs, namely Altico Capital India Ltd and IndoStar Capital Finance.

Navi has been actively scouting for companies to acquire within the BFSI space, according to the ET report. The company aims to harness technology for bettering financial services.

According to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the expected growth of the life insurance industry in India is capped at 12-15 per cent annually for the next three to five years.

Apart from the financial services sector, Bansal’s portfolio also includes Ola, one of his largest investments so far at ₹650 crore, Vogo, Bounce and Ather Energy.

 

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