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EbixCash acquires Cox & Kings business customers ?3

11:23 27-Sep-19


EbixCash has signed an agreement to transfer the Indian Business Travel agreements of Cox & Kings to its Mercury Travel division.  Presumably, this comes at a fire sale price, or maybe even no consideration at all, as C&K was proceeding through India's equivalent of bankruptcy.  Ebix had already provided the service technology through its Zillous platform, and "some key core employees" are also making the jump, which implies minor added operating expense. 

This seems like an excellent way to execute on growth plans, and is undoubtedly a better result for customers than what happened with Thomas Cook, in the U.K.  Though the confluence of events underlines how macro uncertainties are hurting the industry, thereby implying danger in the Yatra transaction, I note that business travel is a different animal from the consumer holidays that Cook specialized in.  Even so, I really hope that yesterday's CFO news starts providing some traction in the EbixCash IPO, thereby alleviating balance sheet concerns.