NOIDA, INDIA & JOHNS CREEK, GA – May 24, 2021 – Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries today announced that its EbixCash Indian subsidiary has engaged Grant Thornton’s Indian audit affiliate Walker Chandiok & Co LLP (WCC) to serve as statutory auditors for its EbixCash group of companies in India. In line with the regulations applicable on all international audit firms in India, Grant Thornton in India carries out audit assignments through its affiliate Walker Chandiok & Co LLP.
Grant Thornton in India is the only assurance firm who voluntarily made the decision not to take up any “non-attest” work from listed companies that are being audited by them. Services such as consulting, transaction advisory and valuations are termed as “non-attest” services.
EbixCash announced that its statutory audit in India will be carried out jointly by two firms – Grant Thornton India’s audit arm WCC and KG Somani & Co.(KGS), in view of the Company’s desire to go into the EbixCash IPO on a solid footing. KGS is one of India’s highly respected national audit firms while Grant Thornton is one of the six largest audit fIrms internationally.
Robin Raina, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Ebix, Inc. said, “We are pleased to take one more step forward in the direction of a prospective EbixCash IPO. Grant Thornton is one of the world’s most respected audit firms and they are already the statutory auditors for our Australian companies for more than a decade now. Their audit practice in India has a stellar reputation and thus the decision to engage them, meant that we would now have the same statutory auditor for two of our most important geographies - India and Australia.”
Grant Thornton India is today one of the largest fully integrated assurance, tax and advisory firms in India. With 1300+ staff, 47+ Partners, across 13 offices, the firm presently handles the audit for 100+ large and listed Indian clients.
EbixCash today is one of India’s top on-demand financial and insurance exchanges, with a "Phygital” strategy that combines 320,000 physical distribution outlets in many Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) countries, to an Omni-channel online digital platform. The Company’s EbixCash Financial exchange portfolio encompasses leadership in areas of domestic & international money remittance, foreign exchange (Forex), travel, pre-paid & gift cards, utility payments, lending, wealth management etc. in India and other markets.
With 150+ offices across 6 continents, Ebix, Inc., (NASDAQ: EBIX) endeavors to provide On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries. In the Insurance sector, Ebix’s main focus is to develop and deploy a wide variety of insurance and reinsurance exchanges on an on-demand basis, while also, providing Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") enterprise solutions in the area of CRM, front-end & back-end systems, outsourced administration and risk compliance services, around the world.
With a "Phygital” strategy that combines over 320,000 physical distribution outlets in India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) countries, to an Omni-channel online digital platform, the Company’s EbixCash Financial exchange portfolio encompasses leadership in the areas of domestic and international money remittance, foreign exchange (Forex), travel, pre-paid & gift cards, utility payments, software solutions for lending, wealth management, travel, bus exchanges and insurance in India and other markets. EbixCash’s Forex operations have emerged as a leader in India’s airport Foreign Exchange business with operations in 20 international airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata, combined conducting over $4.8 billion in gross transaction value per year (pre-COVID-19). EbixCash’s inward remittance business in India processes approximately $5 billion in gross annual remittance volume (pre-COVID-19) and is the clear market leader. EbixCash, through its travel portfolio of Via and Mercury, is also one of Southeast Asia’s leading travel exchanges with over 200,000 agents, 25 branches and over 9,800 corporate clients, combined processing an estimated $2.5 billion in gross merchandise value per year (pre-COVID-19).
Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs thousands of domain-specific technology professionals to provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com
As used herein, the terms “Ebix,” “the Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Ebix, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries as a combined entity, except where it is clear that the terms mean only Ebix, Inc.
The information contained in this Press Release contains forward-looking statements and information within the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This information includes 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. In addition, certain statements included in this and our future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in press releases, and in oral and written statements made by us or with our approval, which are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “seeks,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “predict,” “will,” “should,” and other words or expressions of similar meaning are intended by the Company to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout this report and in the documents incorporated herein by reference. These statements are based on our current expectations about future events or results and information that is currently available to us, involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and speak only as of the date on which such statements are made.
Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference, include, but are not limited to those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the SEC, as well as: the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the potential impacts of RSM’s resignation; the risk of litigation or regulatory action arising from RSM’s resignation and the resulting failure to failure to timely file the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Annual Report”); the impact of these matters on the value of the Company’s stock; the willingness of independent insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other processing needs to third parties; pricing and other competitive pressures and the Company’s ability to gain or maintain share of sales as a result of actions by competitors and others; changes in estimates in critical accounting judgments; changes in or failure to comply with laws and regulations, including accounting standards, taxation requirements (including tax rate changes, new tax laws and revised tax interpretations) in domestic or foreign jurisdictions; exchange rate fluctuations and other risks associated with investments and operations in foreign countries (particularly in Australia and India wherein we have significant operations); equity markets, including market disruptions and significant interest rate fluctuations, which may impede our access to, or increase the cost of, external financing; and international conflict, including terrorist acts.
Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such factors, or to publicly announce the results of, or changes to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events, developments, changed circumstances, or for any other reason.
Readers should carefully review the disclosures and the risk factors described in the documents we file from time to time with the SEC, including future reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, and any amendments thereto.
You may obtain our SEC filings at our website, www.ebix.com under the “Investor Information” section, or over the Internet at the SEC’s web site, www.sec.gov
Darren Joseph
678 -281-2027 or IR@ebix.com
David Collins or Chris Eddy
Catalyst Global - 212-924-9800 or ebix@catalyst-ir.com