ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBIX - News), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, today announced that it has acquired Connecticut based HealthConnect Systems, a leading online Exchange for buyers and sellers of health insurance and employee benefits. Ebix also announced that HealthConnect would be immediately integrated into its EbixHealth Division.
Ebix expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to Ebix Earnings per Share (EPS). Ebix disclosed that it funded this transaction completely in cash using its bank debt line. No Ebix shares were issued and no investment bankers were involved in the transaction.
HealthConnect’s state-of-the-art online quoting exchange provides a variety of services to be utilized by the principal constituents involved in the Health insurance industry:
For medical carriers, HealthConnect provides private label portals for sales automation (quoting, enrollment and renewals) as well as participation in a multi carrier network (distribution of rate, benefit and physician data, enrollment connectivity and market intelligence).
For ancillary carriers (dental, vision, life, limited medical, gap, voluntary, etc.), HealthConnect provides private label portals for sales automation (quoting, enrollment and renewals) as well as product promotion through participation a multi carrier-quoting network.
For employee benefit administration service providers (payroll, 401k, COBRA, TPA’s, etc.), HealthConnect provides product promotion through integration with its human resource management system.
For agents, HealthConnect provides automation of targeted internal operations as well as the provision of complete employee benefit administration and human resource management systems to clients.
General agents can distribute access to HealthConnect to their agency clients through their own branded web sites.
Employers and employees access HealthConnect through a portal provided by their agent. Through the portal, branded HRConnect, they can transact with multiple carriers and service providers encompassing the entire spectrum of employee benefits through a single, integrated system.
HealthConnect’s Exchange presently processes roughly 12,000 quote requests per day from 6,700 agents across nineteen states. HealthConnect has offices in Norwalk, CT, Bohemia, NY, Fresno, CA and Pasadena, CA.
HealthConnect Systems CEO Peter Everett said, “This combination is a compelling, ‘hand in glove’ fit that will substantially increase the value proposition we provide to our combined client base. The transaction will accelerate our product development through utilizing Ebix’s existing capabilities and leveraging their significant resource base. We will also augment Ebix’s capabilities in targeted areas and together create the first end-to-end health and benefits network in the U.S. providing a complete range of functionality for all industry constituents – carriers, agents, general agents, employers, employees, TPA’s et al.”
Ebix Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Robin Raina said, "Ebix has always been focused on providing end-to-end solutions in every industry segment. With the acquisition of HealthConnect, Ebix now is the only Company in the industry who can take a health insurance transaction across diverse entities like Employers, Brokers, General Agents, Third Party Administrators, Insurance Companies etc. while providing a wide variety of services like CRM, enrollment, online quoting, benefit portals, content management, claims handling, claims accounting, claims adjudication, COBRA, FSA administration to these entities.”
“The HealthConnect online quoting solution and network provides us the missing piece in our Health product portfolio. It brings in top rated insurance companies like Aetna and Horizon to Ebix, providing both sides an opportunity to cross-sell complementary services to each other’s client base.” Robin Raina added, “With 85% plus recurring revenue streams, good history of profitability, consistent margins, low customer attrition rates, proven management record, complimentary technologies and SaaS based architecture, HealthConnect met all the criteria of a good acquisition target for Ebix. This deal is a strategic step forward to establish Ebix as a Health Information Exchange and is likely to be followed by other strategic steps in coming months and years.”
About HealthConnect Systems
HealthConnect is the leading online Exchange network for buyers and sellers of health insurance and employee benefits. HealthConnect’s multi payer portal enables medical and ancillary carriers as well as service providers to increase sales, reduce customer acquisition costs and obtain actionable market intelligence about their broker distribution channel. Health insurance agents can reduce costs through automation and increase sales through competitive differentiation and increased retention, and employers and employees can eliminate the administrative burden of working with multiple providers through separate systems. Since 1993, HealthConnect has successfully completed over 50 carrier implementations. HealthConnect’s network processes approximately 12,000 quote requests per day from 6,700 agents across nineteen states. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.healthconnectsystems.com
About Ebix, Inc.
A leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, Ebix, Inc., (NASDAQ: EBIX - News) provides end-to-end solutions ranging from infrastructure exchanges, carrier systems, agency systems and BPO services to custom software development for all entities involved in the insurance industry.
With 30+ offices across Brazil, Singapore, Australia, the US, New Zealand, India and Canada, 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 on its platforms. Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of insurance and technology professionals to provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. Ebix’s focus on quality has enabled it to be awarded Level 5 status of the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM). With a recent ISO 27001-security certification, the Company also has an ISO 9001:2000 certification for both its development and BPO units in India. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com
Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — This press release contains various forward looking statements and information that are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to management, including statements regarding future economic performance and financial condition, liquidity and capital resources, acceptance of the Company's products by the market and management's plans and objectives. The Company has tried to identify such forward looking statements by use of words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "will," "should," and similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include the extent to which the Company's new products and services can be successfully developed and marketed, the integration and other risks associated with recent and future acquisitions, the willingness of independent insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other processing needs to third parties, the Company's ability to continue to develop new products to effectively address market needs in an industry characterized by rapid technological change, the Company's dependence on the insurance industry (and in particular independent agents), the highly competitive and rapidly changing automation systems market, the Company's ability to effectively protect its applications software and other proprietary information, the Company's ability to attract and retain quality management, and software, technical sales and other personnel, the potential negative impact on the Company's outsourcing business in India from adverse publicity and possible governmental regulation, the risks of disruption of the Company's Internet connections or internal service problems, the possibly adverse effects of a substantial increase in volume of traffic on the Company's website, mainframe and other servers, possible security breaches on the Company's website and the possible effects of insurance regulation on the Company's business. Certain of these, as well as other, risks, uncertainties and other factors, are described in more detail in Ebix’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s annual report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, included under "Item 1A. Business—Risk Factors." Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such factors or to publicly update any of the forward looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments or changed circumstances or for any other reason.
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