Ebix signs agreement to acquire Yatra online

Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX) and Yatra Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: YTRA) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Ebix will acquire Yatra via merger. In connection with the merger, each ordinary share of Yatra (“Yatra Ordinary Share”) will be entitled to receive 0.005 shares of a new class of preferred stock of Ebix (“Ebix Convertible Preferred Stock”). Each share of Ebix Convertible Preferred Stock received for each Yatra Ordinary Share will, in turn, be convertible into 20 shares of common stock of Ebix (“Ebix Common Stock”).

Based on the trailing 15-day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of Ebix Common Stock of $49.05 per share, each Yatra Ordinary Share convertible into Ebix Common Stock would be valued, on an as-converted basis, at $4.90 per share, representing an approximately 32% premium to Yatra’s closing share price on March 8, 2019, the last trading day prior to the public announcement of Ebix’s offer to acquire Yatra. Assuming a value of $4.90 per Yatra Ordinary Share, the transaction implies an enterprise value of $337.8mil at the Ebix collar price of $59 per share and post adjustment for Indebtedness, Working capital, Warrants to be converted and minimum cash requirement, a net equity value of $239 million.

Ebix will be issuing 243,747 convertible preferred stock, which in turn will be convertible into 4,874,931 shares of Ebix common stock.

Ebix is a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries. Yatra Online is the parent company of Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd., India's leading Corporate Travel services provider and one of India's leading online travel companies. Following the completion of the transaction, Yatra will become part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio alongside Via and Mercury and will continue to serve customers under the Yatra brand. The transaction will create India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, and a leading online travel platform poised to capture significant international growth opportunities.

Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina, commented, "The acquisition of Yatra would lend itself to significant synergies and the emergence of EbixCash as India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, besides being the largest enterprise financial exchange in the country. Over the last few months, we have evolved a detailed synergistic plan, that once fully executed can provide between 40 to 75 cents of accretion to the Ebix non-GAAP EPS. We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities that this combination provides us, while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering.” 

“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Ebix, which provides our shareholders with the opportunity to participate in the significant upside potential of one of the fastest growing multinational On-Demand software and E-commerce services companies in the world,” said Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and CEO of Yatra Online. “Over the last several years, we have built Yatra into one of India’s most well-recognized e-commerce brands, growing into the leading corporate travel services provider and one of the largest consumer travel companies. Becoming a part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio will enable us to continue on that path. As part of a larger diversified organization with the necessary scale and resources to be a leader in today’s dynamic travel marketplace, we will provide more options and an enhanced experience for our joint customers and will be an even stronger partner to the airline, hotel, car rental and other businesses we work with. 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 that will capture growth opportunities and deliver enhanced value to shareholders.”