Sachin Bansal Acquires DHFL General Insurance - The Economic Times
10-Jan-2020 10:17:14 AM
Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal has acquired DHFL General Insurance, a group company of Wadhawan Global Capital (WGC) which used to run embattled home financier Dewan Housing Finance, people in the know of the deal said. Bansal's bet on the insurance firm is a part of his broader ambition in the financial services industry and comes on the back of multiple investments he had made to bulk up his portfolio of firms in the sector.The transaction, expected to value DHFL General Insurance at around Rs 100 crore in what is being seen as distress sale, has been routed through Navi Technologies.
Bansal founded Navi Technologies, formerly known as BAC Acquisitions, along with his IIT-Delhi batchmate Ankit Agarwal, after selling his stake in Flipkart in 2018.Sources said Bansal has bought out 100% of the Kapil Wadhawan-owned DHFL subsidiary. DHFL is currently facing bankruptcy resolution in the NCLT.
WGC, which owns 39% in DHFL, used to manage over $22 billion of assets through its lending, investment and protection platforms before declaring bankruptcy. DHFL operates two insurance subsidiaries - DHFL Pramerica Life insurance and DHFL General Insurance."Bansal wants to get a footing into the banking and financial services sector.
There has been a lot of talk about him being keen on obtaining a banking licence and has been looking at opportunities in the asset management space, " a person aware of his plans said on condition of anonymity. Bansal's move to step into the insurance sector comes on the back of Navi Technologies acquiring a majority stake in Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services, which runs a microfinance platform.