Ebix to buy 60% stake in e-learning firm Smartclass

Ebix Inc, a NASDAQ-listed software firm has opted to acquire 60% stake for $8 million (Rs 52 crore) in Indian e-learning company Smartclass, it said in a media statement.

This is Ebix’s ninth acquisition in India in a little over two years.

US-based Ebix is an on-demand software service provider to the financial sector, e-commerce services, and healthcare industries. The company’s chairman and chief executive Robin Raina said that Ebix will invest up to $100 million in the education sector.

NCR-based Smartclass Educational Services Private Limited provides education services, develops education products, and implements education solutions for K-12 schools. Its customers are mostly schools and pay a subscription fee to use its products. The company’s 1,000-strong employees are dedicated to research and development and customer engagement, which they deliver through media like 2-D, 3-D, virtual reality, animation, etc.

Ebix expects the Smartclass acquisition to be immediately accretive to its earnings and forecasts up to $0.20 in increased diluted EPS, once the company is fully integrated over the next six months, the statement added.

“The e-learning business model is typically asset lite and caters well to strong recurring operating margins, once the customer aggregation crosses the threshold levels. We have been eyeing India’s fast-growing e-learning sector for many years now, fueled by education being one of the highest spending areas traditionally for an Indian median household,” said Raina.