Ebix begins due diligence on Yatra, hopes to close acquisition by May
Ebix has offered to buy 100% of Yatra at $7/share, valuing it at $336 millionEbix intends to merge Yatra Online in its Indian EbixCash subsidiary set up
PremiumMumbai: Nasdaq-listed Ebix Inc., a supplier of on-demand software and e-commerce services, said Tuesday it has made progress in its offer to acquire online travel portal Yatra Online Inc. and has commenced its due diligence. Ebix said that it is working towards signing the agreement to acquire Yatra Online by 15 May.
On 11 March, Ebix made an offer to acquire 100% of Yatra at a price for $7 per share, valuing it at $336 million. It said that it would pay for Yatra in either cash or by issuing Ebix stock.
Ebix intends to merge Yatra Online in its Indian EbixCash subsidiary set up. The Ebix-Yatra deal is subject to due diligence and customary regulatory and other closing conditions, the statement said.
If Ebix does acquire Yatra, it will be Ebix’s biggest acquisition till date in India.
Ebix entered India with the purchase of a 80% stake in ItzCash for Rs800 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 August, it spent Rs1,200 crore to acquire Centrum group’s forex business Centrum Direct Ltd.
Ebix has also acquired a bunch of companies in the travel space.
In November 2017, it had spent around $75 million to acquire online travel portal Via.com. 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.
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