Sachin Bansal’s investment arm BAC Acquisitions renamed Navi Technologies

Sachin Bansal-led private investment firm BAC Acquisitions has been renamed Navi Technologies. 

The ministry of corporate affairs approved the name change on Monday, said an official statement issued by Navi Technologies. 

The Bengaluru-based investment firm has recently shifted its focus to the technology-driven BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector.

“I am very pleased to announce the rechristening of BACQ to Navi and I am sure that this will translate to better acceptance of the brand on a national scale,” said Bansal, chief executive officer, Navi Technologies.

BAC Acquisitions was founded in December 2018 by Bansal, the co-founder of ecommerce giant Flipkart, and Ankit Agarwal, a former director at Bank of America. Bansal and Agarwal were co-alumni at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 

BAC had acquired the non-banking finance company Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services (CRIDS) in a deal worth around Rs 739 crore in September 2019, a company spokesperson told TechCircle.

CRIDS will be part of Navi Technologies as a subsidiary, the statement said. The NBFC provides loans for two-wheelers, housing, small businesses and education across Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Navi Technologies will also look to add Essel Finance Management Company and Essel Mutual Fund to its list of subsidiaries as it awaits approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

After Walmart acquired Flipkart in 2018, Bansal resigned from the company and sold a 5.5% stake in the company for over $1 billion.

Bansal has shifted his investment focus from edtech, hyperlocal commerce, foodtech, proptech and healthcare to the fintech and consumer internet sectors. 

Sachin Bansal has invested around $392 million in over 18 companies including electric vehicles firm Ola Electric Mobility and financial services firm Altico Capital. Of the 18 companies Bansal invested in, 11 deal with financial services or are fintech firms.

In October 2019, Bansal and Pune-based NBFC Poonawalla Finance invested around $10.4 million in technology-focused small business lending startup U Gro Capital.