Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBIX), a leading international supplier of
On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance,
financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, today announced
that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Money Transfer
Service Scheme (MTSS) Business of Paul Merchants Limited (BSE:PML),
for approximately $40.7 million, through one of its Indian
subsidiaries. Paul Merchants Inward Remittance Exchange encompasses
20,000+ distribution outlets, 165+ branches, processing over 6
million transactions per annum.
The agreement while approved by the Paul
Merchants Board, is subject to its shareholders and other
regulatory/commercial approvals. The customary process for such
approvals can take a timeline of 45 to 60 days. As a part of the
agreement, Paul Merchants will also take a 10% stake in Ebix’s
combined international remittance business in India, for a cash
consideration.
The acquisition once approved, is expected to be
accretive to Ebix earnings immediately. The Company funded the
transaction using its internal cash reserves. Ebix did not use any
investment bankers for the transaction.
With a market share of almost 35% percent of
Western Union's inward remittance flows in India, Paul Merchants is
the largest international remittance player in India. This is
Ebix’s third remittance related acquisition over the last 45 days,
following the announcement of the acquisition of YouFirst Money
Express Private Limited and the asset purchase of Wall Street
Finance Limited. Ebix intends to consolidate both these
acquisitions into its Financial Exchange operations bringing
significant synergies and redundancies to the combined
operation.
The acquisition of the MTSS Business, which
controls the largest share of the market, would further strengthen
Ebix’s position in the Financial Exchange market in India,
following its acquisition of ItzCash in May 2017. The addition of
this international capability significantly expands upon Ebix’s
overall participation in India’s remittance channels, and will
allow Ebix’s financial exchange to remit money sent from abroad
through Western Union, Ria, Moneygram or Express Money.
With 75,000+ physical retail outlets for
ItzCash’s financial exchange, the three MTSS business acquisitions
increase that distribution reach substantially to over 114,000
outlets across the country. Ebix’s ItzCash service is already the
largest domestic remittance exchange in India with domestic
remittance volume of approximately $100 million per month.
Ebix’s ItzCash exchange is a recognized leader
in prepaid cards, domestic remittances and bill payments,
processing approximately 600,000 transactions per day and
approximately $2 Billion in annual payment volume.
Paul Merchants Limited Chairman and Managing
Director Satpaul Bansal said, “I am excited to have Paul Merchants
team up with Ebix, in its efforts to streamline the inward
remittance exchange business in India. Ebix has a track record of
deploying and successfully running exchanges across the world. I am
a firm believer in Ebix’s efforts to drive efficiency through
technology and consolidation, as also bring better value to the end
consumer.”
Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina
said, “Paul Merchants has led the Indian markets in the
international remittance exchange business. Under the leadership of
Satpaul, they have backed their steadfast vision with strong
fundamentals, rock solid financials, vast & loyal distribution
base and high levels of commitment to their customers. I am pleased
to say that Mr. Satpaul Bansal, the founding CMD of Paul Merchants
has graciously agreed to serve as the Chairman of the Board of our
combined remittance company, to ensure that the combined MTSS
company continues to deliver high standards of customer service and
growth.”
Robin also said, “I believe that the combination
of Paul Merchant’s MTSS assets into our two other MTSS acquisitions
will place Ebix in a very strong position to implement our vision
related to Financial Exchanges in India.”
About Ebix, Inc.
A leading international supplier of On-Demand
software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial,
e-governance and healthcare industries, Ebix, Inc. provides
end-to-end On-Demand solutions ranging from infrastructure
exchanges, front end & back end enterprise systems, outsourced
administrative & custom software development solutions, and
risk compliance solutions for various entities involved in these
industries.
With 40+ offices across Australia, Brazil,
Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and the UK, Ebix
powers multiple exchanges across the world in the field of life,
annuity, health and property & casualty insurance while
conducting in excess of $100 billion in insurance premiums annually
on its platforms. Through its various SaaS-based software
platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of domain specific business and
technology professionals to provide products, support and
consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. For more
information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com
About Paul Merchants
Limited
Paul Merchants Limited (BSE:PML), an ISO
9001:2008 certified Company for its quality procedures &
processes, is the flagship company of the "PAUL GROUP OF
COMPANIES." The group is a diversified conglomerate having
prominent interests in International Money Transfer, Foreign
Exchange, Finance, Satellite TV, and Tours & Travels. Under the
aegis of specific RBI Licenses, PML offers International Money
Transfer and Forex Services from its widespread network consisting
of own offices and Franchisee locations of more than 22,000 across
India. PML is amongst leading players in Forex as RBI Licensed
Authorized Dealer II. Further, PML is fast emerging name in Tours
& Travels having IATA accreditation besides having affiliation
with Indian Ministry of Tourism. For more information, visit the
Company’s website at http://www.paulmerchants.net
About ItzCash
An Ebix Group Company now, ItzCash Card Ltd.,
India’s leading Digital Payments fintech was established in 2006. A
pioneer in the prepaid payments in India, ItzCash initiated the
concept of ‘digital cash’ to the Indian consumer and various
business entities, heralding the beginning towards enabling a
cashless transacting society. ItzCash continues to build on its
innovation augmenting its product portfolio offering wide choice of
payments and money transfer service having issued 110 million
accounts to date. It constantly invests in upgrading technology
towards creating world‐class Omni-channel payments platforms for
the emerging India. ItzCash has presence across consumer segments
serving 35 million consumers annually and over 75,000 franchisees
branded as “ItzCash World” in 3000+ cities and towns. For further
details, visit www.itzcash.com
SAFE HARBOR REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
As used herein, the terms “Ebix,” “the Company,”
“we,” “our” and “us” refer to Ebix, Inc., a Delaware corporation,
and its consolidated subsidiaries as a combined entity, except
where it is clear that the terms mean only Ebix, Inc.
The information contained in this Press Release
contains forward-looking statements and information within the
"safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This
information includes assumptions made by, and information currently
available to management, including statements regarding future
economic performance and financial condition, liquidity and capital
resources, acceptance of the Company's products by the market, and
management's plans and objectives. In addition, certain statements
included in this and our future filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in press releases, and in oral and
written statements made by us or with our approval, which are not
statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements.
Words such as "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "seeks," "plan,"
"project," "continue," "predict," "will," "should," and other words
or expressions of similar meaning are intended by the Company to
identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These
forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout
this report and in the documents incorporated herein by reference.
These statements are based on our current expectations about future
events or results and information that is currently available to
us, involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and speak only
as of the date on which such statements are made.
Our actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements.
Factors that may cause such a difference, include, but are not
limited to those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent reports filed with the SEC, as well as: the risk of an
unfavorable outcome of the pending governmental investigations or
shareholder class action lawsuits, reputational harm caused by such
investigations and lawsuits, the willingness of independent
insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other processing
needs to third parties; pricing and other competitive pressures and
the Company's ability to gain or maintain share of sales as a
result of actions by competitors and others; changes in estimates
in critical accounting judgments; changes in or failure to comply
with laws and regulations, including accounting standards, taxation
requirements (including tax rate changes, new tax laws and revised
tax interpretations) in domestic or foreign jurisdictions; exchange
rate fluctuations and other risks associated with investments and
operations in foreign countries (particularly in Australia, UK and
India wherein we have significant operations); equity markets,
including market disruptions and significant interest rate
fluctuations, which may impede our access to, or increase the cost
of, external financing; and international conflict, including
terrorist acts.
Except as expressly required by the federal
securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any
such factors, or to publicly announce the results of, or changes to
any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect
future events, developments, changed circumstances, or for any
other reason.
Readers should carefully review the disclosures
and the risk factors described in the documents we file from time
to time with the SEC, including future reports on Forms 10-Q and
8-K, and any amendments thereto. You may obtain our SEC filings at
our website, www.ebix.com under the "Investor Information" section,
or over the Internet at the SEC's web site, www.sec.gov.
CONTACT:
Darren Joseph678 -281-2027 or IR@ebix.com
David Collins or Chris EddyCatalyst Global - 212-924-9800 or
ebix@catalyst-ir.com
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