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 one of its Singapore subsidiaries has entered into an
agreement to acquire Via.com, an Omni-channel online travel and
assisted e-commerce exchange. The acquisition of Via expands on
Ebix’s distribution network to over 224,000 distribution outlets in
the South East of Asia, besides offering significant cross selling
opportunities for Ebix’s EbixCash Financial Exchange portfolio of
products.
Under the terms of the agreement, Via was valued
at a total enterprise value of approximately $74.9 million. The
closing of the transaction is expected over the next few days. The
acquisition is expected to be accretive to Ebix earnings
immediately.
Via is recognized as a leader in the travel
space in India, besides being the only profitable Travel exchange
out of all its peers, while having grown at a CAGR of 45% over the
last 3 years. One of South East Asia’s leading travel exchanges
with over 110,000 distribution outlets and 8000 corporate clients,
Via processes over 24.5 million transactions every year. The
Company’s integrated online platform offers mobile Phone Recharges,
Money Transfer, Insurance, Prepaid Gift Cards & Retail
Products, besides Domestic & International Air, Hotel &
Holidays, Rail, Bus and Rental Car bookings. Via’s multi-channel
exchange also engages directly with consumers through its B2C
website and mobile application platforms.
The Via distribution network encompasses over
85,000 agents in India, 14,700 agents in Indonesia, 9,900 agents in
Philippines, 600 agents in Singapore and 350 agents in UAE and
Oman. Besides being one of the leaders in the space in India, the
Company has emerged as the largest travel solutions provider in
Philippines also. With a hotel inventory of over 500,000 hotels and
one of the largest ticketing platforms expanding across corporates
and distribution outlets, Via has a significant share of the
domestic & international airline ticketing business. Via has
more than 5% share in both domestic & international airline
ticketing in India, 10% in Philippines, 2.7% in Indonesia, 2.1% in
Singapore The Company’s B2C operations in Thailand, Hong Kong and
Saudi Arabia is gaining traction. It has harnessed its distribution
outlets to do a wide variety of financial transactions including
mobile recharges, money transfer, insurance, and prepaid cards
etc.
Ebix intends to consolidate this acquisition
into its Financial Exchange - EbixCash while bringing significant
synergies and redundancies to the combined operation. The
acquisition of the Omni-channel Business, would further strengthen
Ebix’s position in the Financial Exchange market in India, as
travel transactions can be one of the key areas of any leading
financial exchange, with an estimated user base of 600 million in
India alone.
Vani Kola, Managing Director at Kalaari Capital,
said, “Ebix is a logical home for Via, as it complements EbixCash’s
financial exchange portfolio perfectly, opening up tremendous
cross-selling opportunities on both sides. We are excited about the
possibilities this offers for both our customers and employees.
Ebix’s financial strength, expertise, focus and commitment to the
Fintech sector were key in our decision. We believe that the two
sides can leverage each other’s abilities to take a market
leadership role in the South East Asian markets.”
Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina
said, “I believe that the addition of Via’s integrated platform
into our rapidly growing EbixCash financial exchange, places us in
a very strong position to implement our vision related to Financial
Exchanges in the South East of Asia. This allows us tremendous
cross-selling opportunities through each other’s distribution
networks as our product portfolio is complementary and a perfect
fit for each of our distribution outlets and corporate
clients.”
Robin added, “For us taking a strong position in
the travel area was very important, since insurance, remittances,
phone recharges, prepaid gift cards etc. are the things that
complement a consumer’s needs when they engage in travel. We
believe that the cross-selling opportunities will further fuel
organic growth in our EbixCash Financial Exchange portfolio.”
Ebix also announced that it expects the business
to generate around $33 million in GAAP revenues in 2018 with
approximately 30 percent operating margins.
The RainMaker Group acted as the sole financial
advisor to Shareholders of Via. Ebix did not use any investment
bankers for the transaction.
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 45+ 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 Via
Incorporated in February 2007 in Bangalore,
India, the Company is one of the fastest growing & profitable
travel companies in Asia's online space driven by technology. The
Company is a leading distributor of transportation ticketing,
accommodation reservation, packaged tours, corporate travel
management, travel ancillaries, retail and financial services. The
company offers its services through a robust, highly scalable cloud
based technology platform consisting of mobile apps, websites,
corporate platform, and a centralized, toll-free, 24-hour customer
service center.
VIA's Corporate Travel Management Business unit
helps corporate clients effectively manage their travel needs and
significantly reduce travel expenses. VIA expanded its footprints
to Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and UAE. Today, Via's network
includes over 110,000 active travel partners across 2,700 towns and
cities & over 13,000 pin codes across Asia and over 7000+
signed SMEs. For more information, visit the Company’s website at
http://www.via.com
About EbixCash
An Ebix Group initiative, EbixCash is emerging
as one of the leading Financial Exchanges in India. With a
‘Phygital” strategy that combines 224,000 physical distribution
outlets to a Omni-channel online digital platform, EbixCash has
established an enterprise financial exchange portfolio that
encompasses leadership in money remittance (domestic &
international), travel, pre-paid & gift cards, utility payments
etc. Ebix’s recent joint venture initiative with Bombay Stock
Exchange positions it strongly in India’s insurance sector.
EbixCash’s portfolio of products can be accessed digitally anywhere
as also across its distribution outlets spread over 5,500+ cities
and towns. For further details, visit www.ebixcash.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:
Bhavik Vasa+91 9819389881 or
bhavikv@ebixcash.com
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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