EbixCash acquires online travel portal Via.com for $75 million
, ET Bureau|
Nov 01, 2017, 09.28 AM IST
MUMBAI: US based software and services company Ebix has acquired online travel portal Via.com for $75 million. The acquisition will help Ebix expand its scope of offerings in the travel segment and add more than a lakh of retail outlets to the EbixCash family.
Ebix also plans to cross sell its financial prod ucts to its customers using the platform to book tickets. This is the fifth acquisition by Ebix in India in as many months, since it acquired ItzCash early this year and has helped expand the retail footing of EbixCash to around 2.2 lakh. The company intends to create a financial exchange to cater to all the payment needs of its customers starting from remittance, bill pay ments, insurance and even travel.
The acquisition of Via.com gives the company an expanded foothold in the travel booking space and also an entry into the South East Asian market.
"I believe that the addition of Via's integrated platform into our rapidly growing EbixCash financial exchange allows us tremendous cross-selling opportunities through each other's distribution networks as our product portfolio is complementary and a perfect fit for each of our distribution outlets and corporate clients," said Robin Raina, chief executive officer of Ebix.
Bengaluru-based Via.com, which was backed by venture capital investors, including Kalaari Capital and Sequoia Capital, had raised about $15 million in funding. Founded in 2007, the company formerly known as FlightRaja, said having grown at 45% over the last three years, it has a network of 1.1 lakh retail outlets across South East Asia and around 8,000 corporate clients.
With around 85,000 agents in India alone and a hotel inventory of over five lakh, Via claims to capture more than 5% share in both domestic and international airline ticketing in India. Highlighting this acquisition as a part of the broader Ebix strategy , Raina said Ebix will continue to drive investments in India from a $200 million fund to create the EbixCash Financial Exchange.
"Ebix is a logical home for Via, as it complements EbixCash's financial exchange portfolio perfectly, opening up tremendous cross-selling opportunities on both sides. We are excited about the possibilities this offers for both our customers and employees. Ebix's financial strength, expertise, focus and commitment to the fintech sector were key in our decision," said Vani Kola, MD, Kalaari Capital, which was one of the main investors in Via.
Before this acquisition, the payments company had acquired Wall Street Finance, YouFirst Money Express and Paul Merchants, spending more than $50 million in total.
It also recently partnered with the BSE to create an Insurance Distribution Exchange platform.
Ebix also plans to cross sell its financial prod ucts to its customers using the platform to book tickets. This is the fifth acquisition by Ebix in India in as many months, since it acquired ItzCash early this year and has helped expand the retail footing of EbixCash to around 2.2 lakh. The company intends to create a financial exchange to cater to all the payment needs of its customers starting from remittance, bill pay ments, insurance and even travel.
The acquisition of Via.com gives the company an expanded foothold in the travel booking space and also an entry into the South East Asian market.
"I believe that the addition of Via's integrated platform into our rapidly growing EbixCash financial exchange allows us tremendous cross-selling opportunities through each other's distribution networks as our product portfolio is complementary and a perfect fit for each of our distribution outlets and corporate clients," said Robin Raina, chief executive officer of Ebix.
Bengaluru-based Via.com, which was backed by venture capital investors, including Kalaari Capital and Sequoia Capital, had raised about $15 million in funding. Founded in 2007, the company formerly known as FlightRaja, said having grown at 45% over the last three years, it has a network of 1.1 lakh retail outlets across South East Asia and around 8,000 corporate clients.
With around 85,000 agents in India alone and a hotel inventory of over five lakh, Via claims to capture more than 5% share in both domestic and international airline ticketing in India. Highlighting this acquisition as a part of the broader Ebix strategy , Raina said Ebix will continue to drive investments in India from a $200 million fund to create the EbixCash Financial Exchange.
"Ebix is a logical home for Via, as it complements EbixCash's financial exchange portfolio perfectly, opening up tremendous cross-selling opportunities on both sides. We are excited about the possibilities this offers for both our customers and employees. Ebix's financial strength, expertise, focus and commitment to the fintech sector were key in our decision," said Vani Kola, MD, Kalaari Capital, which was one of the main investors in Via.
Before this acquisition, the payments company had acquired Wall Street Finance, YouFirst Money Express and Paul Merchants, spending more than $50 million in total.
It also recently partnered with the BSE to create an Insurance Distribution Exchange platform.
