Ebixcash to acquire Essel Forex, Weizmann Forex for $57.35 mn

Ebixcash on Monday said it will acquire Essel Forex and Weizmann Forex for USD 57.35 million to cement its position in the financial services distribution.

Ebixcash World Money has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling 74.84 per cent stake in India-based Weizmann Forex at an enterprise valuation of USD 65.94 million, an official statement said.

Weizmann Forex is the second largest inward remittance provider besides being one of the four largest foreign exchange and outward remittance providers in India, it said.

Ebixcash, a part of the Nasdaq-listed Ebix Inc, has also entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent assets of India-based Essel Forex for approximately USD 8 million, the statement said.

With the two acquisitions, Ebixcash stands as the largest distribution house in terms of network in financial services space covering more than 3,700 cities and more than 6,000 districts, the statement claimed.

It will also be the largest retail brand in terms of airport presence and will cover 95 per cent of airports in India in terms of retail presence, iy said.

The combined entity will have more than 80 percent share in the cash to cash inward money transfer business in India, will hold more than 50 per cent share in the student outward remittance and forex category, it said.It will be the largest non-banking player in the prepaid forex card segment with a total volume on the prepaid forex cards for Ebixcash World Money pegged at close to USD 1 billion.

Source: Money Control

CHINA'S HNA GROUP TO BUY AIRPORT CURRENCY EXCHANGE SPECIALIST ICE

ICE-LogoHNA Tourism has agreed to buy global foreign exchange specialist, International Currency Exchange (ICE), from UK-based investment holding company Lenlyn Holdings Limited for an undisclosed fee.
Founded in 1973 and headquartered in London, ICE has a network of over 350 branches and bureaux in 70 airports and multiple non-airport, high footfall locations in 19 countries across the globe.
ICE’s main business activities include foreign currency exchange and foreign currency ATM operations and it turns-over in excess of £1bn in currency per annum.
According to purchaser HNA Tourism, a subsidiary of China’s HNA Group, ICE is well-known and characterised by its vibrant and trusted international consumer brand.
HNA Group, a Global Fortune 500 company, is a diversified mainland China-based industrial conglomerate, with business interests across aviation (Hainan Airlines), tourism, financial services, logistics and eco-tech.
To date, its service network extends over Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe and Continuar leyendo «CHINA'S HNA GROUP TO BUY AIRPORT CURRENCY EXCHANGE SPECIALIST ICE»