Ebix Inc has acquired an 80% stake in on-demand SaaS travel technology firm Zillious Solutions through its Indian arm, Ebix Software India.
Zillious is a pure-play on-demand technology initiative which enables end-to-end technology needs of travel management companies (TMCs), corporate, travel agents and Online Travel Agents(OTAs) in the travel industry.
The company works with seven out of the top 10 TMCs it said and processes over 8 Million travel bookings annually, with Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of approximately $1.4 billion per annum. Ebix Inc is a NASDAQ listed international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries.
“Our decision to offload a majority stake to Ebix was based on our long term vision to have a global footprint by expanding to US, UK, Asia, Australia & New Zealand. With Ebix’s global reach we will be able to fulfill this vision faster and seamlessly. We at Zillious have been passionately non-aligned and independent. In Ebix, we found a partner which was in tune with our core philosophy. This decision will benefit our existing and potential customers immensely”, said Harsh Azad, Co-founder, Zillious.
Zillious will remain a non-aligned technology platform, and Ebix will promote it internationally in key markets like the Middle East, US and Asia, besides further establishing it as a pure-play on-demand travel technology exchange within India. Both the promoter founders of Zillious, Harsh Azad and Rohit Gaddi, along with all their team will continue to be a part of the venture.
Ebix is funding the transaction in cash, using its internal cash reserves. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Ebix earnings immediately.
Ebix CEO Robin Raina said, “Ebix has a successful track history of two decades in terms of providing non-aligned technology solutions, with Ebix bulletproofing its clients from data privacy or data sharing or any alignment concerns. We have been in the business of setting up technology airports to power transactions, without taking any sides for decades now. Thus, this acquisition was a natural one for us as it allowed us to do the same in India’s fast-growing travel industry.”
Zillious co-founder Rohit Gaddi said that the company would be looking at hiring more people soon to meet the increased volume of work that is expected following this transaction.
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