USA's Ebix to buy travel services firm Yatra Online for Rs 2,327 cr

US-based software firm Ebix is set to acquire Gurugram-based online travel agent Yatra Online for an enterprise value of $338 million or Rs 2,327.4 crore in an all-stock deal.

Once the transaction is completed, Yatra will be a part of Ebix's travel portfolio, EbixCash. Ebix has offered to pay $4.90 per share of Yatra, a premium of 26 per cent over Yatra's Tuesday closing price, and 32 per cent over its closing price on March 8, when Ebix first made an offer to buy the Indian firm. Ebix Chairman and CEO Robin Raina said the acquisition of Yatra would lend itself to significant synergies and the emergence of EbixCash as India’s largest and most profitable travel services firm. “Over the past few months, we have evolved a detailed synergistic plan, which once fully executed, can provide between 40 and 75 cents of accretion to the Ebix non-GAAP EPS. We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering,” he said.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by each of Ebix's and Yatra's directors and is expected to conclude in October-December quarter after receiving regulatory approvals.

Assuming a value of $4.90 per ordinary share of Yatra, the transaction implies an enterprise value of $337.8 million at the Ebix collar price of $59 per share and after adjustment Yatra's net equity value would be $239 million, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday. 

"Fundraising was not the objective behind the transaction," said Dhruv Shringi, co-founder and CEO of Yatra Online. He said Yatra would continue to exist but a decision on merging it with other Ebix group companies in India is yet to be taken.

 "We will be better capitalised now as a part of a larger group but we will continue to take a measured approach to growth. We don't need to do deep discounting to get customers," he said.