Ebix buys Centrum Direct, signs agreement

Centrum group, a domestic financial services group, has inked an agreement with Ebix Inc, an Atlanta-based e-commerce services company to divest its full stake in Centrum Direct (CDL), a money exchange platform.

The sale value is approximately Rs. 1200 crores. The entire CDL team and assets will be transferred to EBIX Inc and will become a part of EbixCash, an end-to-end financial exchange, the company said in a release.

“Our money exchange business has seen sustained growth and has consistently innovated to meet changing customer needs,” said Jaspal Bindra, Executive Chairman, Centrum Group. “However, consolidation and margin pressures are expected to be major disruptors in this business.”


“With more customers opting for technology enabled platforms, EBIX Inc has the right technological capabilities, a global footprint and a large resource base, to make an ideal home for CDL,” he said.

The agreement is subject to its shareholders and other regulatory/commercial approvals. The customary process for such approvals can take a timeline of 45 to 60 days.

In 2017, Centrum had divested 18.5% of its stake in CDL to a group of PE investors – Jacob Ballas, New York Life and Evolvence.

Two days earlier ET wrote that Ebix was planning to buy the whole stake in Centrum forex business.