Flipkart co-founder, Sachin Bansal’s financial service company, Navi Technologies is seeking to acquire Aviva Life Insurance Company which is reportedly a Joint Venture between India-based Dabur Invest Corp. and UK-based insurance company, Aviva.
According to reports by Inc42, the deal is underway and in advanced talks. Navi technologies is looking out for acquiring consumer goods company- Dabur’s investment arm, Dabur Investment Corp.’s investment in the joint venture for INR 1,000 Cr to INR 1,200 Cr.
Aviva Life Insurance Company is a multinational insurance company which is considered the largest general insurer and pension provider, based in the United Kingdoms. The company previously had 26% stake in the Joint Venture but later, Aviva plc acquired an additional 23% from Dabur Investment Corp, making it a holder of 49% stake in the JV which is valued at INR 4,087 crore.
However, Sachin Bansal and his Navi technologies have been on an acquisition spree, following in the footsteps of Flipkart’s business strategy. The start-up has reportedly acquired Mumbai-based DHFL General Insurance for USD 14 million, early this year. Besides this, Essel Mutual Fund, Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services (CRIDS) and its subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Ltd, Essel AMC and Mavenhive have also been acquired by Navi Technologies in the recent past, according to reports by Inc42.
In a report published earlier this year, it was mentioned that Sachin Bansal was focussing on acquisitions to meet the regulatory requirements for banking, thus all of its acquisitions were majorly focussed on operations. On the other hand, with the co-founder’s strategy used on Flipkart, he mentions it to be completely to scale up its growth of the business.
Furthermore, the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sector in India deals with a market size of USD 1.85 Trillion which is way more than USD 64 billion market size of the e-commerce sector in the country. The figures are a very significant attraction for overseas investors but the banking industry remains under secure parameters set by the regulatory authorities and entry into the market becomes difficult for investors.
However, due to the pandemic, the Public and Private Sector banks have taken a hit which has worried investors and consumers, the report said.
Aviva roped in JP Morgan to help them sell their shareholdings to the Indian company but the deal awaits final materialisation.
Navi technologies was founded in 2018 by Ankit Agarwal and Flipkart co-founder, Sachin Bansal after his exit from the e-commerce giant, post-acquisition by Walmart.