Nasdaq-listed Ebix Inc., a supplier of on-demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare sectors, has started work on the initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian business, said two people aware of the development.
Ebix has over 50 offices across Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and the UK, and processes over $100 billion worth of transactions annually across its platforms. The company has a market capitalization of over $2 billion.
“Ebix has started meeting investment banks to discuss the IPO plans of its Indian business, EbixCash. They plan to list the business in the second half of next year and are likely to soon appoint bankers to begin work on the draft document,” said one of the people cited above, requesting anonymity.
“They have been busy acquiring several businesses in India over the last year and half, and they have built up a significant presence here, spending several hundreds of millions on these acquisitions,” the person added.
Ebix chairman Robin Raina declined to comment on the EbixCash IPO plans.
Ebix entered India with the purchase of a 80% stake in ItzCash for ₹800 crore from Essel Group and other shareholders in May 2017. Since then, the company has acquired a dozen companies across sectors such as remittance, travel, foreign exchange and education.
In September 2017, it acquired the money transfer business of Paul Merchants Ltd for $40.7 million. In August 2017, it had acquired the money transfer service scheme business of YouFirst Money Express Pvt. Ltd and a similar business from Wall Street Finance Ltd.
In November 2017, it had spent around $75 million to acquire online travel portal Via.com.
In August 2018, Ebix spent ₹1,200 crore to acquire Centrum group’s forex business Centrum Direct Ltd. Ebix has also acquired a bunch of companies in the travel space. In the same month, it acquired Mumbai-based Mercury Travels and Delhi-based Leisure Corp. for $14.2 million to create a niche vertical which will focus on luxury, events and sports-related travellers.
According to Ebix’s latest regulatory filings, its India-led revenues were at $71.5 million in the July-September quarter, translating to an annualized revenue run rate of $286 million.
The company has set an annualized revenue run rate target of $450 million by the fourth quarter of 2019 for Ebix, and India on a standalone consolidated basis with 30% or more in operating income, Robin Raina had said in a recent investor call. “This high aspirational goal is driven by the momentum we are experiencing in India. And I believe that we can be India’s largest financial insurance exchange while pioneering new business concepts and end-to-end B2C and B2B processes in India.”
Source: Mint