Bengaluru: US-based software firm Ebix has reached an agreement under which it will acquire online travel portal Yatra for $239 million in an all-stock deal. The move comes four months after the Nasdaq-listed companies had said that they are exploring a deal.
Yatra will continue to be operated as an independent platform, according to its co-founder and CEO, Dhruv Shringi. The deal gives Yatra an enterprise value of $338 million, which includes debt and working capital requirements. Shares of Yatra climbed over 11% to $4.32, giving it a market capitalization of $196 million even as the Ebix share fell by 6.4% to $45 after the deal was announced. Ebix has a market capitalization of $1.4 billion. The share-swap pegs the value of Ebix shares at $49.05 and Yatra’s at $4.9.
The acquisition process, which started in March, will be formally closed after full approval of shareholders, which may take another four to six months. Some of the largest shareholders in Yatra include Reliance Industries-owned Network18, which owns 7.06%, and Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Capital, which has 8.43%. The other major shareholders include Macquarie Group and Rotation Capital, both of whom hold 15% each. Yatra co-founders Dhruv Shringhi and COO Sharat Dhall hold a 3.77% stake.
“We are confident that combining Yatra’s loyal customer base, comprehensive service offering and multi-channel platform with Ebix’s complementary Via and Mercury businesses will create a leading online travel platform and India’s largest corporate travel platform,” said Shringhi. Serving corporates is the main business for Yatra, where it now has 800 clients. The deal will help Ebix in its existing travel business, which also includes forex.
In fact, Ebix has now made over 18 acquisitions across travel, payments, remittance and foreign exchange segments. This is in line with the company’s broader plan to build a financial and insurance exchange that will offer full-stack solutions. “We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities that this combination provides us, while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering,” said Ebix chairman, president and CEO Robin Raina.
The combined company will have an international footprint with more than 11,000 employees and a travel expanse spanning across the globe. The transaction also provides the necessary scale to extend its travel business to North America, Latin America and Europe.
Tags: Ebix to acquire travel portal Yatra
