US-based Ebix, has announced that it is acquiring money transfer service scheme (MTSS) business of YouFirst Money Express Pvt. Ltd. However, the company has not disclosed the financial details of the deal.
This marks the company’s second acquisition in the remittance space in India within a week. It had acquired Wall Street Finance Ltd’s MTSS assets for Rs 47 crore, which is a BSE-listed company.
While the financial details of the deal have not been revealed, a report from VCCircle claims that the company has offered more than what it spent on acquisition of Wall Street Finance Ltd. Another report suggests that Ebix will now have around 25 percent share of the inward international remittance market in India.
YouFirst is an entity which operates in the international inward remittance space and in foreign exchange. It is claimed to be the third largest international remittance player in India with a market share of almost 15 percent of Western Union’s inward remittance flows in India.
Wholly owned entity of YouFirst Ventures, the company is promoted by former Citibank and Reliance Capital executive Vikrant Gugnani.
Commenting on this, Ebix Chairman, President, and CEO Robin Raina stated,
The acquisition of YouFirst is a significant announcement in our efforts to expand our presence in the Financial Exchange markets in India. It will not only help expand our reach, but also help nurture cross selling and increased revenue opportunities for our distribution outlets.
In a statement about the acquisition, the company said,
It has a market share of around 15% of Western Union’s India inward remittance flow. The acquisitions of YouFirst and Wall Street Finance’s MTSS inward remittance assets will give Ebix a 25% share of the inward international remittance market in India, strengthening its position in the financial exchange market in the country.
Robin Raina says that the acquisitions will help increase ItzCash’s financial exchange reach from the current 75,000+ retail outlets to over 94,000 brick-and-mortar outlets around the country.
Ebix Inc. is a US-based global insurance SaaS company. Earlier, it had acquired 80 percent stake in ItzCash for Rs 800 crore. It has committed to keep spending money in Indian market for investments and acquisitions.