SUMMARY
After the acquisition, Miles Software will serve as Ebix’s investment, wealth, and asset management division
As a part of the deal, all key business executives of Miles Software have been retained by Ebix
Miles Software will be able to leverage Ebix's presence in North America, Australia, the UK, and Brazil to sell its products
EbixCash, the Indian subsidiary of Ebix Inc, a global supplier of on-demand software and ecommerce services, has signed an agreement to acquire Mumbai-based Miles Software for approximately $19 Mn. The deal will also include an additional contingent earn-out of up to $8.5 Mn, payable after two years.
Founded in 1999 by Milan Ganatra, Dhawal Kamath, and Himanshu Siria, Miles Software develops wealth, asset, portfolio, and investment management software. The company has a clientele across leading private banking institutions, asset management organisations, brokerage firms, trust banks, wealth advisors, financial institutions, and family offices.
“The addition of Miles to our EbixCash portfolio not only makes our financial exchange offering even more comprehensive but also provides us with a senior management team that is proven and highly respected in the industry,” said Robin Raina, chairman and CEO of Ebix.
“I look forward to working with Milan in helping him expand the Miles footprint to the US, Australia, and Brazil while utilising our domain focused sales and relationship-oriented folks in these markets,” he added.
Ebix: Plans With The Acquisition
After the acquisition, Miles Software will serve as Ebix’s investment, wealth, and asset management division with its products being interfaced across both EbixCash financial exchanges and EbixExchange insurance exchanges.
As part of the deal, all key business executives of Miles Software have been retained by Ebix. Further, Miles Software’s founder Milan Ganatra and his team have been entrusted with the task of leading Ebix’s global efforts.
Ganatra will also become a key member of the EbixCash senior leadership team in India and will work with an enhanced focus on the global fast-growing wealth and asset management industry.
Ebix claims that the acquisition will help it improve its earnings as soon as the acquisition is fully integrated over the next six months.
Milan Ganatra, founder and CEO of Miles Software, said, “With over 7,500 employees servicing clients in India, Ebix offers us expansion possibilities that are truly exciting. Ebix’s expanse across the world and, more specifically, in North America, Australia, the UK, and Brazil has the potential of opening up immense new opportunities for our products, as we interface them to Ebix CRM and other Exchange solutions in these markets.”
Ebix’s Increasing Portfolio
Lately, Ebix Inc has been doubling down on its aggressive acquisition strategy in India and was in the news for planning to invest another $500 Mn in acquisitions, after having done 11 acquisitions in 14 months for $500 Mn.
In the last seven months, Ebix has acquired Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) business of Transcorp International, elearning company Smartclass, money exchange platform Centrum Direct, financial software provider Indus Software, and travel services ventures Mercury Travels and Leisure Corp.
Ebix’s recent joint venture initiative with the Bombay Stock Exchange also positions it as a gateway for insurance carriers to sell insurance to India’s vast population through EbixCash’s “tens of thousands” of “phygital” outlets across the country.
Last year, Ebix had acquired an 80% stake in ItzCash in May 2017. The funding, which was done at a valuation of $150 Mn, allowed Ebix to assume majority shareholder status in ItzCash.
The addition of the Miles asset management, portfolio management, custodian services and collateral based lending management to the EbixCash portfolio will help in strengthening Ebix’s leadership in India’s Financial Exchange markets.
Ebix Inc is in competition with players such as Accenture, an investment holding company; StoneRiver, an insurance software company; iPipeline, an on-demand service provider; and Aplifi, a developer of software solutions among others.
