Matrix exits ItzCash as Ebix invests

MUMBAI, May 25, 2017 '“ US headquartered, Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, today announced that it has invested approximately Rs. 800 crores in acquiring a 80% stake in India's Leading payment solutions Exchange ItzCash. The Company is today recognized as a leader in the prepaid cards and bill payments space, besides being the only payments solutions player out of all its peers, who is profitable today, while having grown at an impressive CAGR of 35% over the last 3 years. The investment marked a full exit for Matrix Partners India who had led the first institutional round of funding into ItzCash.

"With the youngest tech-savvy society, the largest middle class, a 1.3 billion population, a country committed to going digital and a growth rate of 7% plus, India is an emerging economic superpower today. We are big believers in the power of exchanges and thus have been keen to take an early position in India in terms of powering financial and insurance exchanges,' said Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina. "In ItzCash, we found attributes that none of their peers had '“ market penetration across 3000 cities, 75,000+ brick & mortar distribution outlets, a CAGR of approximately 35% and the only company who was profitable amongst all its peers. With one of India's most prominent business houses, the Essel Group deciding to align their interests with Ebix, the decision to invest in ItzCash became easy for us.'

Naveen Surya, Managing Director, ItzCash said, "We are thrilled to be associated now with a world-leading exchange like Ebix and the opportunities that Ebix's new investment in ItzCash offers us. This is a testament to our belief and roadmap for growth to deliver comprehensive financial services across emerging India. Having established our leadership across Payments, Remittances and Corporate Solutions already we will deepen our foray in areas of credit, insurance, healthcare and investments. We will continue to invest in our distribution network and technology providing a fully integrated Financial Exchange.'

"It has been an absolute privilege and honor to partner with Mr. Ashok Goel, Navin Surya, Essel Group, ItzCash team and the ItzCash Board '“ this journey has been characterized by the highest levels of Corporate Governance which helps the reputation for Indian companies. This is also a '˜Made in India' and '˜Made for India' business and is another example of a local innovation business model led by an outstanding team delivering great results. Finally, this is the 90th Founding Anniversary celebration for the Essel Group and a great milestone for one of their group companies!' added Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director at Matrix India.

About Ebix, Inc.
A leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, Ebix, Inc. provides end-to-end on-Demand solutions ranging from infrastructure exchanges, front end & back end enterprise systems, outsourced administrative & custom software development solutions, and risk compliance solutions for various entities involved in these industries.

With 40+ offices across Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and the UK, Ebix powers multiple exchanges across the world in the field of life, annuity, health and property & casualty insurance while conducting in excess of $100 billion in insurance premiums annually on its platforms. Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of domain specific business and 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

About ItzCash
An Ebix Group Company now, ItzCash Card Ltd., India's leading Digital Payments fintech was established in 2006. A pioneer in the prepaid payments in India, ItzCash initiated the concept of '˜digital cash' to the Indian consumer and various business entities, heralding the beginning towards enabling a cashless transacting society. ItzCash continues to build on its innovation augmenting its product portfolio offering wide choice of payments and money transfer service having issued 110 million accounts to date. It constantly invests in upgrading technology towards creating world'class Omni-channel payments platforms for the emerging India. ItzCash has presence across consumer segments serving 35 million consumers annually and over 75,000 franchisees branded as "ItzCash World' in 3000+ cities and towns. For further details, visit www.itzcash.com

About Matrix Partners India
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 4,500 crore under management. The firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer market at the seed, early and early growth stages. The firm has invested in several market leading companies in the consumer technology space including Ola (local transportation), Quikr (online classifieds), Practo (digital health platform), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Mswipe (mobile POS), Limeroad (mobile social commerce marketplace), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), OfBusiness (B2B Marketplace) and Treebo (digital hotel chain) among others. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $4 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in