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Nasdaq-listed Ebix Inc has acquired Paul Merchants' international remittance business for $40.7 million.
This is the third acquisition by Ebix Inc in the last two months in the international remittance segment, giving it a 60 per cent market share and leadership position in this segment in India.
It may be recalled that Ebix Inc had in August this year acquired the Money Transfer service scheme (MTSS) business of YouFirst Money Express Private Ltd. Ebix Inc had on August 17 acquired the MTSS assets of Wall Street Finance Ltd.
Commenting on the latest acquisition, Bhavik Vasa, Chief Growth Officer, ItzCash told BusinessLine that this was the largest MTSS deal in value terms so far by Ebix Inc after its acquisition of ItzCash.
Ebix's ItzCash Financial Exchange is now the largest digital payments and money transfer player (International and domestic) in India, he said.
Paul Merchants, which is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange, is the largest international remittance player in India with market share of almost 35 per cent of Western Union's inward remittance flows into India.
Ebix Inc --after acquiring 80 per cent of ItzCash-had announced that it had put together a $100 million growth fund for India. Post this announcement, Ebix Inc had been actively making investments both organic and inorganic in India.
Meanwhile, as part of the latest transaction, Paul Merchants will also take a 10 per cent stake in Ebix's combined international remittance business entity in India for cash consideration.
Once approved, the Ebix acquisition of MTSS business of Paul Merchants is expected to be accretive to the Nasdaq-listed company's earnings immediately. The acquisition has been funded using Ebix's internal accruals. No investment bankers were used for the transaction.
Srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in
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