Ebix investment in India to be close to $1 billion with Yatra acquisition

US-based software firm Ebix Inc's investment in India would be close to $1 billion with the acquisition of Yatra Online Inc. The Atlanta-headquartered company has acquired Yatra for $336 million on Wednesday.

In a recent interview with CNBC-TV18, Robin Raina, Ebix chairman and chief executive officer said: "We are trying to build an ecosystem in India, a complete end-to-end financial exchange and the acquisition of Yatra is a step in that direction. We already are the largest financial exchange in India and we consider travel a very integral part of building this financial ecosystem."

"As of now, the company conducts in excess of $2.5 billion of growth merchandise value (GMV) on their platforms. The acquisition of Yatra would add another $1.5 billion of GMV and increasing their GMV to $4 billion," Raina said.

"It is a win-win situation for our shareholders. We thought if we offer 85 percent premium, it provides a substantial premium to the existing Yatra shareholders," Raina observed.