COMPANY TO EXPAND MCN’S ANNUITY EXCHANGE IN BRAZIL TO OFFER LIFE AND ANNUITY EXCHANGE SERVICES
ATLANTA, GA – January 11, 2010 – Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, announced today that it has acquired Sao Paulo based MCN Technology & Consulting (MCN) effective 15th of January 2010. The signing of the binding agreement was completed today while the closing will be done on the 15th of January 2010. MCN was acquired by Ebix Latin America, a newly formed subsidiary of Ebix Singapore.
Since its inception in 2001, MCN has focused on the insurance industry through its portfolio of products and services for insurance companies, financial institutions and insurance brokers. MCN provides a wide array of IT products and services with the key one being Exchanges for pension and annuities, besides specialized Enterprise Integration Products, eBusiness Transactional Portals and Specialized Consulting, Implementation and Support Services to the insurance industry in Latin America.
MCN’s flagship Exchange for Annuities is the first exchange initiative between Brazilian Life insurance companies and is today used by 40 Life insurers in Brazil, for transfer of annuities between them. FENAPREVI, the National Federation of Life and Retirement Annuities Insurance Companies, charges each insurer for every portability requested on the Annuity Exchange while MCN in turn charges FENAPREVI for all portabilities transacted.
In total, the Brazilian insurance industry comprises around 140 companies, which range from small locally owned companies to large multi-national organizations. Currently, the total insurance market revenue is over $57 billion. This industry has been presenting a significant growth ratio over the last 5 years, with a 12%-15% growth a year on average. The Life and Retirement Annuities sector alone has grown at an average rate of 25% per annum.
Robin Raina, Chairman, President and CEO of Ebix, Inc., said, “The acquisition of MCN provides us with a solid relationship base in the Latin American insurance markets. We see this as an entry point for Ebix to cross-sell its exchanges and back-end systems in Latin America. Brazil was a natural choice as our Latin American headquarters since it accounts for 40% of the region’s insurance revenues. MCN has strong relationships with leading Life insurance and P&C companies in Latin America and we intend to develop those relationships further.”
Robin added, “We are pleased to inherit a strong team of 45+ employees with expansive insurance domain knowledge specific to Latin America. The company has a strong management team headed by Mario Nogueira, an insurance industry veteran who will help Ebix take its vision into the market place in an expeditious manner.”
Ebix considers the size of the acquisition immaterial to its 2010 financial results and thus did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. Ebix funded this transaction through internal sources using its own cash reserves. No Ebix shares were issued in the transaction.
About MCN
Since its inception in 2001, MCN has focused itself on the insurance
industry through its portfolio of products and services for insurance companies,
financial institutions and insurance brokers. MCN provides a wide array of IT
products and services with the key one being Exchanges for pension and annuities,
besides specialized Enterprise Integration Products, eBusiness Transactional
Portals and Specialized Consulting, Implementation and Support Services, to
the insurance industry in Latin America.
For more information about MCN, go to http://www.MCN.com.br
About Ebix
A leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services
to the insurance industry, Ebix, Inc., (NASDAQ:EBIX) provides end to end solutions
ranging from infrastructure Exchanges, carrier systems, agency systems and BPO
services to custom software development for all entities involved in the insurance
industry.
With 30+ offices across Singapore, Australia, the US, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and Canada, 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 on its platforms. Through its various SaaS based software platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of insurance and technology professionals that provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. Ebix’s focus on quality has enabled it to be awarded Level 5 status of the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM). Ebix has also earned ISO 9001:2000 certification for both its development and BPO units in India. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com
CONTACT:
Steve Horneman
404-839-1988 or steve.horneman@ebix.com
Aaron Tikkoo, IR
678 -281-2027 or atikkoo@ebix.com