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 Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) Business of Wall Street Finance Limited (BSE: WSFIN) along with the acquisition of its subsidiary company Goldman Securities Limited, for $7.4 million. The agreement while approved by the Wall Street Board, is subject to its shareholders approval. The customary process for such approval can take a timeline of 45 to 75 days.
The acquisition once approved, is expected to be accretive to Ebix earnings immediately. The Company funded the transaction using its internal cash reserves.
The acquisition of these MTSS inward remittance assets, which control approximately 10% of the market, would further strengthen Ebix's position in the Financial Exchange market in India, following its acquisition of ItzCash in May 2017. Ebix's ItzCash service is the largest domestic remittance exchange in India with domestic remittance volume of approximately $100 million per month. 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 or InstaCash.
The acquisition also brings Wall Street Finance's network of 10 Branches and over 9,000 sub-agents to Ebix, building upon its ItzCash exchange's distribution network of 75,000+ physical retail outlets. 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, with an industry leading transaction success rate of 99%.
Ebix's goal is to become India's largest Financial Exchange, with integrated offerings for insurance, healthcare and telemedicine. This acquisition advances this goal, providing the assets necessary to run an international remittance exchange business, while also enabling cross-selling opportunities for remittance services and a range of financial, insurance, and travel related services to each respective network.
Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina, "We are focused on establishing Ebix as a leader in the Financial Exchange markets in India. This acquisition will not only expand our reach in the country, but will establish Ebix as a key player in the international remittance exchange markets. Over the next few months, our strategy in the space will become clearer to all concerned as we unveil a series of other steps to further grow our presence in the financial exchange markets."
Robin added, "The acquisition of these MTSS assets will complement our ItzCash financial exchange and allow us to streamline costs further while offering tremendous cross selling opportunities. This should also help enhance our operating margins, in the financial exchange segment 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 Wall Street Finance Limited
Wall Street Finance Limited is listed on the BSE (BSE: WSFIN). It is engaged in the business of international inward remittance under the MTSS license from RBI and the foreign exchange and international outward remittance business under the AD2 license from RBI. With a market share of around 10 percent of the international inward remittance markets, Wall Street has a vast network of 10 MTSS Branches and over 9,000 sub-agents across India. Along with its subsidiary, this financial exchange serves to remit money sent through Western Union, Ria, Xpress Money and Instant Cash to be handed over to consumers through its distribution network spanning all across the country. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www. wallstreetfinanceltd.com/ receive-money
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
