ATLANTA, GA – September 27, 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 signed the agreement to acquire Rio de Janeiro-based Insurance Exchange - USIX Technologies, Inc. USIX was acquired by Sao Paulo based Ebix Latin America, the existing subsidiary of Ebix Singapore. The closing of the transaction will be completed on 28th September 2010. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Ebix Earnings per Share (EPS).
USIX Technologies is a provider of Exchange solutions for the insurance industry in Brazil, specializing in Internet interface solutions for insurance companies and their agents. USIX portfolio of Exchange solutions includes pricing, multi-quoting for brokers, underwriting, contract binding, broker system solutions etc. in the Motor, Property and Life (individual and group life) sectors of the insurance industry in Brazil.
USIX solutions are utilized by some of the largest insurance companies in Brazil including the largest insurance carrier in Latin America - Bradesco Seguros and the 2nd largest carrier - SulAmerica. USIX’s customer base for its exchange solutions includes local names like Bancobras, Banrisul, Porto Seguro, Brasilveiculos Seguros, HDI Seguros, HSBC, MAPFRE Seguros, and Liberty Seguros, in addition to Bradesco and SulAmerica. The Company also provides Internet based On-Demand solutions to purchase two-wheeler insurance at dealerships of Honda, Yamaha and Sundown Motors across Brazil.
USIX also is presently in the process of implementing an on-demand exchange based Broker system solution for the thousands of Brokers of Bradesco Seguros. The solution is targeted to be deployed across 30,000 brokers of Bradesco.
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 growing over the last 5 years at a 12%-15% average yearly growth rate. The Life and Retirement Annuities sector alone has grown at an average rate of 25% per annum. This acquisition marks Ebix’s entry into one of the fastest growing Property & Casualty and Life insurance exchange markets in the world. Ebix already runs an Annuity portability Exchange in Brazil that is utilized by 40 different Life insurance Companies today.
This addition to Ebix Latin America helps the Company provide end-to-end processing solutions in the Brazilian insurance markets in Brazilian Portuguese. Ebix has already finished the customization and translation of its CRM and on-demand Carrier systems services for Brazil. The acquired exchange solutions in conjunction with Ebix’s Health, Life and P&C solutions provides Ebix the ability to be the one-stop Enterprise solutions provider to any large insurance Company in Brazil.
Robin Raina, President & CEO of Ebix, Inc. said, “Brazil is one of the fastest growing insurance markets in the world today and we are keen to position ourselves early in this market. USIX has a solution set that has become the engine of distribution of sales, for many large carriers today in Brazil. USIX has on-Demand Exchange solutions that fit in tightly with our other solutions. They have a committed customer base with a strong growing revenue stream. In addition, they have solutions that can be deployed in other Latin American countries. All of that is clearly a great complement to our existing business today in Brazil.”
Robin added, “USIX has a strong owner managed senior management team with a knowledge oriented employee base. The management team had a great record of growing revenues, seemed bullish about their future and was willing to be paid a large part of the sale price in the form of a Earn out, strictly tied to year-over-year growth in revenues. We liked the solution set, the enterprise play, the recurring revenue base, and the energy levels of the management. All of that contributed to our decision-making. We believe that the transaction will be accretive to our shareholders in the short and long-term both.”
Ebix considers the size of the acquisition immaterial at present 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 and no investment bankers were involved in the transaction.
About USIX Technology
An exchange player in the Brazilian insurance markets, the Company has been
a revenue trailblazer in the local markets with three- digit year over year
revenue growth. The Company provides Internet based sales solutions in an on-Demand
manner to the insurance carriers and brokers in Brazil. With offices in Fortaleza,
Rio and Sao Paulo, the Company has approximately 120 employees spread across
the three offices. For more information, please visit www.usix.com.br
About Ebix, Inc.
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 Brazil, Singapore, Australia, the US, New Zealand, India 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 to 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:
Aaron
678-281-2027 or atikkoo@ebix.com
Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — This press release contains various forward looking statements and information that are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to management, including statements regarding future economic performance and financial condition, liquidity and capital resources, acceptance of the Company's products by the market and management's plans and objectives. The Company has tried to identify such forward looking statements by use of words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "will," "should," and similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include the extent to which the Company's new products and services can be successfully developed and marketed, the integration and other risks associated with recent and future acquisitions, the willingness of independent insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other processing needs to third parties, the Company's ability to continue to develop new products to effectively address market needs in an industry characterized by rapid technological change, the Company's dependence on the insurance industry (and in particular independent agents), the highly competitive and rapidly changing automation systems market, the Company's ability to effectively protect its applications software and other proprietary information, the Company's ability to attract and retain quality management, and software, technical sales and other personnel, the potential negative impact on the Company's outsourcing business in India from adverse publicity and possible governmental regulation, the risks of disruption of the Company's Internet connections or internal service problems, the possibly adverse effects of a substantial increase in volume of traffic on the Company's website, mainframe and other servers, possible security breaches on the Company's website and the possible effects of insurance regulation on the Company's business. Certain of these, as well as other, risks, uncertainties and other factors, are described in more detail in Ebix’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s annual report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, included under "Item 1A. Business—Risk Factors." Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such factors or to publicly update any of the forward looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments or changed circumstances or for any other reason.