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 its Indian subsidiary Ebix Software India Private Limited and
Vara Technologies Private Limited ("Vara Tech"), a Kanoria
Foundation entity, have entered into a joint venture strategic
partnership to target IT & BPO Outsourcing in the Financial
& Insurance Sector in India.
VARA and Ebix executed a partnership agreement
wherein Ebix agreed to infuse capital in Vara Tech's subsidiary
Vara United Private Limited ("VARA") through subscription of newly
issued shares, enabling Ebix to hold 50% stake, on the Closing of
the Transaction. Ebix has valued VARA’s Enterprise
Value at approximately $46 million. VARA at present has an annual
revenue run rate of approximately $31 million. Closing of the
transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is
expected over the next few weeks.
VARA at present is engaged in the business of
providing IT & BPO Outsourcing to large Indian financial
entities and has a long-term multi-year strategic outsourcing
engagement involving a few thousand VARA employees, with one of
India’s largest financial entities. VARA also provides embedded
staffing, software development and infrastructure management
services to its clients.
The new venture to be branded as VARA-Ebix,
involves a capital infusion by Ebix that is expected to strengthen
VARA's balance sheet through an improved capital structure. It will
also bring strategic, operational and synergistic efficiencies to
the joint venture through Ebix’s expertise, and technology
strengths in the area of finance and insurance. The partnership
would also enable VARA-Ebix to enhance its technological
capabilities and delivery prowess through access to global best
practices and product innovations, helping it to create stronger
value proposition for its clients. Ebix would benefit through
access and participation in the high growth BPO & IT
outsourcing area of the Indian BFSI sector.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Sujit
Kanoria, Director, VARA, said, "Our partnership with Ebix is a
concrete step in our business journey to further build on our solid
foundation and would help us in achieving the goal of becoming a
leading technology player in banking and financial services. This
partnership will inculcate global best practices in the Company and
would immensely help in creating enhanced value for our esteemed
clients.”
Led by an Indian-American CEO, Ebix was recently
ranked amongst the World’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies by Fortune
magazine in September 2017. Ebix CEO Robin Raina who is presently
visiting India, has the unique distinction of being the only CEO on
Fortune’s 2017 list of Fastest Growing Companies in the world, who
has featured on the coveted Fortune list 5 times in the last
decade, and also providing more than 23,000 percent shareholder
return since December 2000.
Ebix Group Chairman, President and CEO Robin
Raina said, “The relationship with VARA represents a significant
opportunity to expand our presence in the banking and financial
services sector in India which is one of the leading high growth
economies across the globe. With approximately 3,300 employees on
customer assignments, VARA already has a strong presence in the
BFSI sector in India. We are excited to invest in VARA towards
establishing a strong presence in the BPO & IT outsourcing
areas in the banking, insurance and financial sectors in
India.”
Ebix expects the transaction to be immediately
accretive to its shareholders. No investment bankers were involved
in the transaction, with Ebix funding the transaction in cash using
its cash reserves.
About Vara Technology Private Limited
("Vara Tech")
Vara Tech, a Kanoria Foundation entity, is one
of the fast-growing technology service providers, which has
embraced emerging technologies to offer customized solutions to its
customers across Infrastructure, BFSI, and Healthcare sectors. Vara
Tech has collaborations with various global OEMs which provides
strategic advantages while delivering effective solutions to its
customers. Vara Tech is headquartered in Kolkata and has multiple
offices across India.
About Kanoria Foundation
Kanoria Foundation is a trust entity founded by
the Kanoria family. The Kanoria family has been in business for
over two centuries. The Trust is engaged in both business
investments and social initiatives. The business investments span
the Infrastructure sector, i.e., from financing to development,
from housing to hospitality and healthcare, from information
technology to agriculture. The social impact initiatives are in the
areas of health, education and spirituality.
About Ebix, Inc.
Recently ranked amongst the World’s 100 Fastest
Growing Companies by Fortune magazine in September 2017, Ebix is 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 finance,
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
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:
For Ebix –
India
Bhavik Vasa
+91 9819389881 or bhavikv@ebixcash.com
US
Darren Joseph
678 -281-2027 or IR@ebix.com
David Collins or Chris Eddy
Catalyst Global - 212-924-9800 or ebix@catalyst-ir.com
Ebix (NASDAQ:EBIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Ebix (NASDAQ:EBIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024